Bengaluru, Feb 23 (IANS): All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Waris Pathan has been booked for allegedly making a hate speech at an anti-CAA rally in Karnataka's Kalaburagi, police said on Sunday.

"We have booked a case against Pathan for reportedly making a hate speech at an anti-CAA rally in the city on February 15 and summoned him to appear before us for interrogation by February 29," Kalaburagi police commissioner M.N. Nagaraj told IANS on phone.

Kalaburagi is about 580 kms north of Bengaluru in the southern state.

The case was booked against the Mumbai-based Pathan under sections 153A and 117 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on a complaint by a local lawyer - Shwetha Omprakash Rathod that the former made provocative statements against the Hindu community.

"Though the organsiers took permission to hold a protest rally and a public meeting on last Saturday, we learnt from the complaint and a video footage of the event Pathan saying in Hindustani that '15 crore Muslims were more than a match to 100 crore Hindus' to the gathering," said Nagaraj.

Pathan, 51, is a former legislator of the Hyderabad-based party from Mumbai's Byculla Assembly segment and a practicing lawyer in Maharashtra.

The complaint also quoted Pathan bragging in Hindi and Urdu "to those saying we have only put our women at the forefront of the protest against the CAA, NRC and NPR...only our lionesses have come out till now and you are already sweating. Imagine what would happen if we all men come together. We are 15 crore, which can outweigh their 100 crore".

On receiving police summons for questioning at Kalaburagi, Pathan told reporters in Mumbai on Saturday that he had no intention to hurt the sentiments of any community and blamed the media for twisting his speech to defame him, his party and the minority community.

"I take back my words if they hurt anyone and apologise for the same," said Pathan, adding in a tweet that he was a proud Indian and respects the plurality of the country but was angry like many others who believe in the Constitution, with the government for imposing the CAA on the people.

Criticising Pathan for his hate speech AIMIM president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi advised the former to refrain from making such provocative remarks in public.

Disowning Pathan's speech and conduct, party's Maharashtra unit president and Aurangabad Lok Sabha member Imtiyaz Jaleel said his party does not endorse such offensive statements.

"We will seek explanation from him (Pathan) on his remarks," said Jaleel, adding the party would give guidelines to its members on making public speeches.

--IANS

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