Muslim community leaders in Kolkata on Saturday welcomed the Centre’s decision to hang Afzal Guru, but said “Hindu terrorists” should be similarly hanged. 


“Why should the law discriminate between Muslim and Hindu extremists? If these things continue there will be resentment among Muslims, giving birth to more Afzal Gurus,” said Maulana SM Noor-ur-Rehman Barkati, the Shahi Imam of the Tipu Sultan mosque in Kolkata.

 “What about Hindu terrorists such as Shrikant Purohit and Pragya Singh Thakur, who are responsible for killing innocent Muslims? Why are they not being hanged? When will they hang?”

 Describing Vishva Hindu Parishad leader Praveen Togadia and Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi as “Hindu extremists”, the Shahi Imam said Muslims in India felt insecure because these leaders roamed freely even after "giving hate speeches and eliminating Muslims".

 Qari Fazlur Rehman, who leads the city’s largest Id congregation on Red Road, also welcomed Guru’s hanging, but questioned the secrecy around the execution.

Maulana Shafiqe Quasmi, Imam of Nakhoda Masjid, said, “The law should not be biased. If Afzal Guru could be hanged, why are Hindu leaders such as Praveen Togadia still roaming free? They are also harmful for the country.”