Shiv Sena workers throw black ink on Khurshid Kasuri's book launch moderator Sudheendra Kulkarni

Shiv Sena had earlier warned of protest if Khurshid Kasuri’s latest book titled “Neither a hawk, nor a dove – An insider’s account of Pakistan’s foreign policy” was to be released. Scheduled for release today at 5:30 pm, the event turned controversial when Sudheendra Kulkarni, who was to moderate the discussion about the book, was made the target of an attack.

According to Sudheendra, Shiv Sena workers threw black paint on his face and heckled him outside his residence. This is what Sudheendra had to say about the untoward incident:-

“Shiv Sena activists abused me, smeared black paint on my face,” Sudheendra Kulkarni said. Sudheendra will be moderating the event and conducting discussions.

“Neither a hawk, nor a dove – An insider’s account of Pakistan’s foreign policy” is the name of Khurshid Kasuri’s book.

Shiv Sena had conveyed to the Nehru planetarium to cancel Khurshid Kasuri’s book launch event. A letter had been penned by Sena vibhag pramukh Ashish Chemburkar to the director of Nehru planetarium, to call off the event and inform the organisers. In the letter, the reason had been stated as Pakistan’s involvement in terrorism activities in India.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’ had given assurances of security for the event. The incident occurred after Kasuri’s book launch event in Mumbai was cancelled yesterday. Kasuri is a top Pakistani diplomat and former Foreign Minister of Pakistan.

Also read: Khurshid Kasuri’s book launch cancelled in Mumbai after Shiv Sena threats

Last week, Shiv Sena had also been instrumental in calling off a concert by Pakistani ghazal artist Ghulam Ali, who was scheduled to perform in Mumbai and Pune.

Also read: Ghulam Ali’s concert cancelled following threats by Shiv Sena