Former Uttar Pradesh Minister and BSP leader Haji Yakub Qureshi on Thursday courted controversy when he sought to defend the terror attack on French satiricial magazine Charlie Hebdo, saying whoever shows disrespect to the Prophet will invite death.
"Prophet Mohammad had conveyed a message of peace to the entire world and if anyone makes certain cartoons on him will invite death like the cartoonists and journalists in Paris," Qureshi said in comments that came at a time when the massacre came in for allround condemnation across the world.
Qureshi, however, denied reports in which he was stated to have said that he will reward the attackers who killed Charlie Hebdo's Editor and cartoonist of the controversial Prophet poster with Rs 51 crore."I have not made any such announcement regarding the attack in Paris," he claimed.
Four of France's most famous cartoonists were among the dozen people killed yesterday when gunmen attacked the Paris office of Charlie Hebdo.Reacting to the statements by Qureshi, Uttar Pradesh's IGP(law and Order) A Satish Ganesh said if anything like this has been stated then action will be taken by authorities.