Noted Urdu poet and lyricist Javed Akhtar sought the immediate arrest of Karnataka cleric Tanveer Peera Hashim for his controversial remark that cows would be slaughtered during Bakrid, saying the comment was "irresponsible and outrageous."
"Secularism doesn't mean ignoring or tolerating minority communalism. This irresponsible and outrageous cleric Tanveer Hashim should immediately be arrested for trying to create communal tension in Bengaluru," Akhtar tweeted.
The cleric kicked up a controversy with his remarks made in the presence of state minister Shivanand Patil during his sermons on the occasion of Ramzan prayer at Vijayapura in north Karnataka a few days ago.
The remarks sparked a row as cow slaughter is banned in Karnataka.
"Let me bring to your notice, in two months time there will be Bakrid. In the name of cow, this satan (devil) will do a mischief. I am telling you (the minister) this beforehand so as to ensure that with the cow another sacrifice does not happen," Hashim said in his speech in Urdu.
The cleric's remarks came days after a purported video of BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal asking corporators to work only for Hindus, who voted for him, and not for Muslims, went viral on social media.
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