Manohar Parrikar's statement is baseless: Maulana Mufti Mukarram Ahmed

Maulana Mufti Mukarram Ahmed, the Shahi Imam of the Fatehpuri Masjid in Delhi's Walled City today lashed out at Manohar Parrikar, Chief Minister of Goa, saying his description of Hindustanis as Hindus is altogether baseless.

Maulana Mufti Mukarram Ahmed said, "Whatever the Goa CM said is wrong and nowhere in the world are Hindustanis called Hindus. They are called Hindi. When we say Hindu we refer to a particular religion, not to a country".

"Hindu is a word used by non-Indians to refer to the Indians, irrespective of religion. In the Gulf countries, even a Muslim is called a Hindu", Parrikar had told the Goa legislative assembly on Wednesday.

Ahmed also reiterated that the Communal Violence Bill should be passed and political parties should stop blaming each other and work towards bringing in communal harmony.

"The Communal violence bill should be passed and there should be harmony amongst the people. Congress got so much time to rule but they did not find it necessary to pass the bill. Now both parties are blaming each other. No one is actually working to pass the bill", he said.