The Chairman of Uttar Pradesh Shia Waqf Board Waseem Rizvi has a thing for making statements that mire him in controversies. Muslim clerics turned furious this time as Rizvi asked Muslims against building Ram temple in Ayodhya should go to Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Rizvi in Ayodhya
In Ayodhya, Mr Rizvi offered Friday prayers at the disputed site. Next, he met the chief priest of the Ram Janambhoomi, Acharya Satyendra Das. The hearing of the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi case in Supreme Court will commence from February 8.
Rizvi beforehand had said,
“Those who are opposing the Ram temple in Ayodhya and want to build the Babri Mosque there… People having such fundamentalist mentality should go to Pakistan and Bangladesh. Such Muslims do not have any place in India.”
“Those who want to spread Jihad in the name of the mosque must go and join the forces of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the ISIS chief.”
He went on to push the blame on fundamentalist Muslim clerics for instigating hatred and making the roadmap for the destruction of the country. In a strong-mouthed statement, he advised fundamentalists to migrate to Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Mr Rizvi’s remarks sparked a fresh storm as Shia clerics demanded his arrest for trying to communalize the atmosphere. C Maulana Iftekhar Hussain Inquilabi, President of Shia Ulema Council accused Rizvi of criminal involvement.
He claimed that Mulayam Singh Yadav and Azam Khan had immensely supported Rizvi. And now with the BJP in power, he is doing things that keep him safe and spared.