Teesta apologizes for controversial tweet

RANCHI: Noted social activist Teesta Setalvad issued an unconditional apology on Sunday for ‘inadvertently hurting the sentiments’ of people by re-tweeting a picture that drew a parallel between different forms of religious extremism and had a Hindu deity in it.
Setalvad was here on Sunday to attend, ‘people’s convention on education, employment, development and security of Muslim minority’.
Responding to a series of objections on twitter and FIRs lodged in various police stations of Gujarat, she said: “Since I have deleted the post and immediately apologized, I think the matter should not be stretched any further.”
Quoting her own blog, Setalvad also said she has described in detail how she re-tweeted a photograph sent to her by one of her friends in rush and had not intended to hurt sentiments.
“While reiterating my commitment to work for communal harmony, conflict resolution and peace building, I once again offer my sincere apologies for inadvertently hurting religious sentiments,” she said quoting her blog post.
As the key note speaker of the convention, she said the Indian constitution guarantees equality to every citizen but communal forces often try to deprive the minorities of their constitutional rights. “In the garb of nationalism, these forces are giving an opportunity to fanatics to put the country’s integrity into danger,” she said, calling upon the secular forces to come forward to safeguard the country’s democracy.
CPM politburo member Brinda Karat was also present in the convention. She negated the convention of Hindustan being a land of Hindus.
“Those who describe India as the home of Hindus have no idea about its history. To protect the secular fabric of the nation, a unified struggle is necessary,” she said.
“Since I have deleted the post and immediately apologized, I think the matter should not be stretched any further.”