Meerut: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Haji Yakoob Qureshi said that he was ready to Rs 51 crore reward, which he had announced in 2006, to the Charlie Hebdo attackers if they come and claim the declared prize.
“I am ready to pay the money if they come and demand the declared reward,” he told Hindustan Times.
Qureshi had in 2006 declared a reward of Rs 51 crore for anyone who would kill the Danish cartoonist who had created a controversial cartoon of Prophet Mohammed. The declaration was made at a public rally in Meerut.
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He also said that whoever will show disrespect for Prophet will invite death like the cartoonists and journalists of Charlie Hebdo.
Yesterday, Hooded gunmen dressed in black burst into the office of the magazine, killing 12 people in a coordinated strike. Eight journalists, including the magazine's editor, and two policemen were among the dead.
“Followers of Prophet punish them (Rasul ke ashiq unhe saja de dete hai),” he said.
The former Uttar Pradesh minister further said “Those who dare insult Prophet Mohammed deserve death and there is no need to initiate legal procedure against them.”