Threats stifled free speech: Rushdie

With his much talked about appearance at the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) via video conferencing getting cancelled over protests, British Indian writer Salman Rushdie on Tuesday rued that threats by Muslim groups 'stifled free speech'.

"JLF Threat of violence by Muslim groups stifled free speech today. In a true democracy all get to speak, not just the ones making threats," Rushdie tweeted on Tuesday.

The video conference was called off by the owners of the venue and the organizers of the festival on the advice of the Rajasthan police, citing law and order concerns, media reports said.

The owner of the venue, Ram Pratap Singh, said that he has decided not to allow the video link.

Sanjoy Roy, JLF organizer said, "It is unfortunate that once again we are being bullied and have to step down."

Muslim group protesters demonstrated against the conference on Tuesday.

The demonstrators under the banner of Milli Council assembled outside the venue of the festival and demanded the cancellation of the video link.

Earlier on Tuesday, the organizers of the festival had reportedly said that the writer will not break any law with his video address at the JLF.

Rushdie is scheduled to join the festival at 3:45 pm via a video link.

Jaipur-based Milli Council is one of the organisations that had filed a complaint against writers who had read out from Rushdie´s controversial book -´The Satanic Verses´.

Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has invited Rushdie to the capital, media reports said.

Congress leader Digvijaya Singh told NDTV: "Rushdie row not linked to Uttar Pradesh elections."

Writer Shobhaa De tweeted: "It´s ´official´ - we have buckled!No Salman Rushdie Videolink at JLF.India ´officially´ proves to the world that it lacks freedom of speech."

Earlier, Rushdie expressed his outraged over what appeared to him a "ploy" by the Rajasthan Police to keep him away from the JLF to quell protests by a few Muslim groups.

The Booker Prize winning writer had to cancel his planned visit to JLF on Friday after what he said the authorities warned him of possible bid on his life by hired assassins of Mumbai underworld.

But with the Mumbai police denying ever coming up with any such news, Rushdie sees the entire episode as a ploy to keep him away from the festival.

He was told that Mumbai underworld assassins were engaged to kill him, but the Mumbai Police later rubbished the news saying they had no such input ever.

An angry Rushdie on Sunday tweeted citing a news story in The Hindu: "'Rajasthan police invented plot to keep away Rushdie". I´ve investigated, & believe that I was indeed lied to. I am outraged and very angry."

State authorities however dismissed Rushdie´s charge that the state police had invented a "ploy" to keep him away from the Literature Festival, saying that it had received intelligence inputs that the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) was planning to target him during the festival.

"Salman Rushdie´s allegation on Rajasthan police is completely baseless. The state government had received reactions and inputs from intelligence agencies, individuals and organisations in this regard," Principal Secretary (Home) G S Sandhu said in a statement.

Rushdie´s decision to stay away from the festival triggered protests by the intellectuals in India who had gathered at the literary carnival in the historic city of Jaipur to take part in what is now Asia´s biggest such festival.

They slammed the Indian authorities for failing to offer protection to the London-based writer who was in hiding for years earlier following the threats by the Islamic fundamentalists.

The scheduled visit of Rushdie was under cloud ever since an Indian Islamic seminary protested his invitation to the festival, though he had graced it in the past without a whimper of protest.