Rs 51-cr toon bounty sparks row
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1419344.cms
LUCKNOW: In a shocking demand, UP cabinet minister and senior Samajwadi Party leader Mohammed Yaqoob Qureshi on Friday called for the beheading of the cartoonist who had sketched Prophet Mohammed for a Danish newspaper and announced that he would give "the avenger" Rs 51 crore and weigh him in gold.
And pre-empting the question about where he’d get the money, the minister for Haj told a protest rally in Meerut that the money would be collected from the people of Meerut and that Muslim women were ready to sell their gold ornaments to "reward" any would-be assassin.
Yaqoob’s public statement sent ripples through Lucknow and Samajwadi Party as well as Muslim leaders moved to distance themselves from it. But the state government refused to say whether it planned any action for what was clearly an invitation for a contract killing in a foreign land. Muslim leaders in Lucknow said Yaqoob’s appeared to be cheap gimmick.
Strangely, chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav was not ready to comment on Yaqoob’s outrageous demand, and Samajwadi Party was cautious not to be seen as dismissive of Yaqoob. Party leaders, speaking off the record, said the minister was probably just responding to a charged atmosphere. SP general secretary Amar Singh said, "I would exercise my restraint in giving any reaction because it may have far-reaching implications."
Addressing a crowd of over 25,000 that had gathered at Meerut’s Sadar Ground after Friday prayers to protest against portrayal of the Prophet in Danish cartoons, a visibly excited Yaqoob declared that whosoever would get him the head of the Danish cartoonist would be rewarded.
"Whosoever it is, be it a Pakistani, an Iraqi or an American," Yaqoob said. A moment later he added, "The money will be paid by the people of Meerut."
"Strangely, chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav was not ready to comment on Yaqoob’s outrageous demand, and Samajwadi Party was cautious not to be seen as dismissive of Yaqoob. Party leaders, speaking off the record, said the minister was probably just responding to a charged atmosphere. SP general secretary Amar Singh said, "I would exercise my restraint in giving any reaction because it may have far-reaching implications.""
so, he refuses to condemn the outrageous remarks.
"Addressing a crowd of over 25,000 that had gathered at Meerut’s Sadar Ground after Friday prayers to protest against portrayal of the Prophet in Danish cartoons, a visibly excited Yaqoob declared that whosoever would get him the head of the Danish cartoonist would be rewarded."
25,000? that's more than in some Muslim countries.
""Whosoever it is, be it a Pakistani, an Iraqi or an American," Yaqoob said. A moment later he added, "The money will be paid by the people of Meerut.""
Im sure the good citizens of Meerut will be glad to pay.