AIMIM trying to poison minds of Indian Muslims, says Raut

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Friday accused the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) of repeatedly misleading Indian Muslims and trying to poison their minds. His statement comes in the wake of AIMIM leader Waris Pathan's alleged '15 crore Muslims can be heavy (dominate) on 100 crore' remark he recently made in Karnataka.

"Who has given you the right to become leader of Muslims in the country?" Raut told reporters in Delhi.

"The Shiv Sena is in power in Maharashtra and hence it is exercising restraint," he added. "What is your stature in Maharashtra? The state's Muslims are with the MVA government. AIMIM is repeatedly misleading Indian Muslims and trying to poison their minds. If such comments are repeated, Shiv Sena will respond in the same language," Raut said.

NCP spokesman and Maharashtra Minority Affairs Minister Nawab Malik condemned Pathan's remarks. "We condemn Pathan's divisive and inflammatory comments. Is there a fixed match between AIMIM and BJP for making communal remarks?" he said.

Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant also slammed Pathan over his remarks and said, “AIMIM and BJP are two sides of the same coin. AIMIM is pushing the agenda of communal polarisation at BJP's instance.”

Meanwhile, AIMIM said it would seek explanation from its leader Waris Pathan, a party leader said in Aurangabad. "If needed, we will come out with a set of dos and don'ts for the party workers to be while giving speech," he said.