Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh slammed Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma for hitting out at the writers returning their Sahitya Akademi awards, saying it was 'arrogance personified'. Singh said that this was not expected from Mahesh Sharma. This is an uncultured remark made by the cultured minister and he should learn politics first. The senior Congress leader had earlier tweeted to express his displeasure over Sharma's statement.
Sharma had in an interview to a leading national daily said, 'if they (writers) say they are unable to write, let them first stop writing. We will then see'. Sharma, however, clarified that he was only against the 'platform' which the writers had chosen to show their protest.