Yesterday, we showed you some of the most shocking reactions from Social Media, to the horrible Terror attack in France. Today, an offline reaction has outdone all of them. Haji Yaqoob Qureshi, who has been a minister in Uttar Pradesh government during the BSP rule, has said that he will pay 51 crore rupees to those terrorists who killed cartoonists and satirists at French magazine Charlie Hebdo.
Qureshi had earlier announced that “reward money” to anyone who killed Danish cartoonists who drew images Prophet Mohammad. Then, he had got support from Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid, who said that “Every Muslim should have similar feelings.”
On Wednesday, when terrorists killed the French cartoonists, Yaqoob Qureshi reiterated that if the terrorists approached him to claim the reward money, he will happily hand it over to them.
The Meerut edition of Dainik Bhaskar has reported his remarks today that has attracted criticisms from various quarters.
Qureshi has been known to be in controversies. Earlier he was suspended from BSP after he made offensive remarks against Sikhs. He has been accused of fomenting tensions between Sikhs and Muslims in many areas of Western Uttar Pradesh.
He had also termed Narendra Modi as a “darindaa” (monster) during the Lok Sabha elections. Qureshi was fighting on BSP ticket, but lost.
It is to be seen if the mainstream TV media makes it a topic of debate, or they ignore it as a “fringe” voice while they focus on other kinds of fringe voices.