Days after Germany's criticism of Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair's arrest, former External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on Sunday, 10 July advised the government against adopting a 'touch-me-not' attitude.
Instead, he said, the administration should concentrate on ensuring that there is no reason for any adverse opinions.
"..We have an opinion about what is happening in other countries, they have an opinion about what is happening in our country. If we don't want an adverse opinion we must show the best side of us. We must ensure that there is no reason for an adverse opinion," Khurshid was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
Opining that he believes that no external force should overtly interfere in internal matters, he also said, "But, I think there are certain limits within which we have to be sensitive to the world's opinion."
The Congress leader went on to decry that the Narendra Modi-led government has been truant in implementing the law impartially.
'Why Does Modi Not Speak on Unity'
Speaking to PTI, Khurshid further said, "If he was a silent PM that would be another matter but he is not a silent PM, he speaks, so why does he not speak on this. Why does he not say 'let us come together, this country cannot succeed if we remain divided."
The former Union minister also added that it is becoming increasingly difficult to speak freely, as the consequences for it are fairly "foreboding."
"You don't get bail immediately, if everyone has to go to the Supreme Court…that is a worrisome thing," he said.
On Opposition Unity & the Nupur Sharma Row
The Congress leader was also asked about the unity of Opposition parties on the road to the 2024 general elections, to which he said that the the parties are facing a "very clever adversary," and if they don't act quickly enough they will lose the advantage.
"History will not forgive those who fail," Khurshid said while expressing that a unified Opposition is imperative to 'save the country,' PTI reported.
Asked about whether the backlash in Gulf over suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma's remarks against Prophet Mohammad started the trend of negative reactions from abroad, the Congress leader said, "You call it a backlash or you call it a reaction you can't avoid it indefinitely, sooner or later even your friends get embarrassed and they have to stand up because they have their own local domestic constituencies to satisfy."
They can't just put a mask on their eyes and say we can't see what is happening because they are also answerable, he said, adding that beyond a point, people will speak up.
Referring to the adverse reactions in Gulf countries after Sharma's comments, Khurshid said it was a very special case because what was said directly affected people in those countries in terms of their religion.
"So it wasn't something they were interfering in which had to do with India, it was something that they felt had something to do with them and they reacted," he said.
He said the government's reaction should have come in the first place to what was felt by its own citizens."Whether we responded because something happened in the Arab world is of no concern as far as I am concerned. What is important is that we should have responded in a timely manner to the concerns of our own citizens," he asserted.
Background
Zubair was arrested on 27 June over an "objectionable tweet" he had posted in 2018. An anonymous Twitter account had raised a complaint against the tweet, tagging the Delhi Police.
The arrest has been widely condemned, with Amnesty India noting that the police action is "a clear violation of the right to freedom of expression, abuse of power by the authorities," which "sends a message that dissent is not tolerated in the country."
Meanwhile, hours after being granted bail by the Supreme Court in a case registered against him in Uttar Pradesh's Sitapur, the Lakhimpur Kheri police issued a fresh warrant against Zubair, over a case registered against him in 2021 for allegedly spreading enmity between religious groups.
(With inputs from PTI.)
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