Convenient for Congress I didn't come: Rushdie

New Delhi: Salman Rushdie on Tuesday said that it was very convenient for everyone in the Congress that he did not come to India just before the Uttar Pradesh elections scheduled in February-March.

"I wasn't contacted by anyone in the government at the beginning. The Rajasthan authorities were saying to the organisers that they wanted to make my trip possible. But as it got closer and closer that commitment started to waiver. I have some skepticism about how genuine their commitment was. It was very convenient to everyone in the Congress that I did not come just before the UP vote," he said in an interview to NDTV news Channel.

The Congress is desperately trying to woo the 16 per cent Muslims in Uttar Pradesh in order to revive the party in the state. The state's population is around 20 crore.

Saying "the way in which the Congress party in centre or in Rajasthan, and many other parties stated their opposition", Rushdie said he "felt confident that some way would be found to prevent him from coming".

"And sadly it was."

Salman said he had asked former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi "what kind of India he wanted to live in and what kind of India he wanted to lead?"

"Would you like it to be free or one in which leadership is corrupt? Or one in which police forces are unreliable? It's proper to ask these questions and demand answers," said Rushdie.

Stating it was very hard to see how his visit was offensive to anyone in India, the author said "had the protest not been whipped up by Deoband and colluded with by the political establishment; it's a stupid thing".

"Men of violence need to be called by their true name. This is gangsterism. That is the true crime. It's a black farce," he said.

Stating he has been "dealing with this nonsense for a quarter of a century", he said his book "The Satanic Verses" was widely read and appreciated.

"I just go on with my work and with my life. I'm not easily fazed by this sort of thing anymore," he said.

He said the incident showed "India that values' freedom is very much alive and kicking and not being well represented by its leaders".