Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit today said there is no question of welcoming Salman Rushdie as a guest to the city, hours after indicating that she did not have any problem in allowing him to come to New Delhi.
"There is no question of welcoming English writer Mr Salman Rushdie as a guest into the city. Rushdie is a well known writer. He has also been honoured with prestigious Booker award. As a writer we respect him," Dikshit said.
Dikshit's comments came hours after Rushdie's planned video address at the Jaipur Literature Festival was cancelled at the last minute over fears of violence following protests by Muslim groups.
Earlier in the day, Dikshit had indicated that the writer was welcome in the city.
"We welcome everyone. We don't want to get into all this. He is a very well known writer and there may be differences in opinion over what he writes. He is a very very eminent writer," she told reporters on the sidelines of a function in New Delhi.