Khurshid dares Kejriwal to visit his turf and 'return'

Activist accepts challenge, says he will visit Farrukhabad

Union Minister Salman Khurshid on Wednesday ran into fresh controversy as he dared India Against Corruption (IAC) leader Arvind Kejriwal to visit his constituency Farrukhabad in Uttar Pradesh and return after staging a protest against him.

“Let them (Kejriwal and team) come to Farrukhabad. But, let him (Kejriwal) also return from Farrukhabad. I have been made the Law Minister and asked to work with the pen. I will work with the pen but also with blood,” The Law Minister said at a closed-door function here on Tuesday night.

“They say, we (they) will ask questions and you (we) have to give the answers. We say you hear the answers and forget about asking questions,” he also said.

Kejriwal, who announced a protest at Farrukhabad against Khurshid allegedly for misappropriation of Rs 71 lakh of central funds by him and his wife through their Zakir Hussain Memorial Trust, which provides aids to disabled, interpreted the Minister’s remarks as a death threat to him after some of the news channels aired the footage.

“Salman Khurshid has threatened me. Killing me won't help because the country has been awakened. If one Arvind is killed, another 100 Arvinds will emerge,“ he said.
Kejriwal’s reaction

Kejriwal vowed that he would certainly visit the Minister’s home constituency and hold protest against him as he had announced.

“I will not die till I complete my mission. I will certainly go to Farukkhabad and return safely. My life is not in Salman Khurshid’s hands but god’s hands. No one can kill one whom god wishes to keep alive,” the IAC leader said.

He also appealed to people to come in large numbers and participate in his protest in Farrukhabad from November 1.

Criticising Khurshid for his remarks, Kejriwal said that the kind of language he used against him did not suit the stature of the country’s Law Minister.

“Rather than threatening like this, it would be better if the Congress senses the anger of people and takes some concrete steps against corruption,” he added.