Maharashtra Congress leader and former minister Arif Naseem Khan on Friday demanded strict action against Bharatiya Janata Party leader and member of Parliament Vinay Katiyar for his 'anti-Muslim' statements.
Taking umbrage at Katiyar's recent statement that 'Muslims should go to Pakistan or Bangladesh', Khan said: "This country is not Katiyar's property. It also belongs to all citizens of India."
Two days ago, Katiyar triggered a controversy with his remarks which came under fire from various Muslim leaders of different political parties.
He also urged the centre to implement the Amitabh Kundu Commission's report recommending a separate law for the protection of minority Muslims in India.
Endorsing All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM) President Asasuddin Owaisi's similar demand in Parliament, Khan pointed out that the former UPA government headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had appointed the Amitabh Kundu Commission on the issue in 2013, as per the recommendations of the Justice Rajinder Sachar Committee.
The Amitabh Kundu Commission report -- calling for a special separate law to protect the rights of minority Muslims on the lines of the Atrocities Act -- was submitted to the government in March 2014.
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"But thereafter, nothing happened in the matter."
Owaisi has demanded a similar law including a three-year jail term for anybody terming Indian Muslims as 'Pakistani', on the lines of the Atrocities Act which protects Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes in the country.
Earlier, in 2010, the Maharashtra government had empowered the Maharashtra Minority Commission with quasi-judicial powers to handle such cases under the special minority law for the minorities and Muslims in the state, Khan said.
--IANS
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