Law Minister Salman Khurshid on Saturday said his remarks in Farrukhabad earlier this week had been misconstrued and he had not threatened India Against Corruption (IAC) activist Arvind Kejriwal over his plans to visit his parliamentary constituency.
Speaking to television news channel NDTV, Khurshid said the media had not shown the entire clip of his speech. "You did not show the entire clip. Someone wants to misunderstand me, why does the media misunderstand me," Khurshid asked.
Khurshid, whose remarks were disapproved by the Congress, said he had sought to convey that the people of Farrukabad would stand by him. "If you come to attack, you will see the strength I have," Khurshid said, and added that people attacking him in his constituency will come back with a baggage.
Asked about Kejriwal perceiving his remarks as a threat to his life, Khurshid said: "They must perceive something to keep politics alive."
Khurshid took exception to IAC activist Prashant Bhushan likening him to a "mafia don" and demanding his arrest and wondered if he did not have a reason to be "indignant, disturbed".
Asked about the impending cabinet reshuffle, Khurshid shot back: "You want me to go."
The minister said the media also should be careful about its own ethics. "Principles of journalistic ethics have been violated. Feeding frenzy is going to lead the country to disaster. Are we going towards chaos?" he said.
Referring to Kejriwal and his team, Khurshid said they do not trust a government probe "but when it comes to them, they can appoint their own people. Not everything is bad. Simply that we do not have perfection does not mean we are not good at all."
In his remarks at a meeting in Farrukhabad Tuesday, Khurshid said: "I was told work with a pen and was made a law minister. I will work with a pen, but also with blood."
Referring to Kejriwal's threat to campaign against him in Farrukhabad, the minister told his cheering supporters: "Let him come to Farrukhabad, and let us see how he returns."