Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Azam Khan on Monday said the statements issued by Kairana MLA Nahid Hasan were "sad" but blamed others for creating the "situation" in which the MLA had to issue such statements.
"It is sad that such a situation arose. But who is responsible for it? Who had started this? We (Muslims) stayed back, our ancestors stayed back in India," Khan told reporters here.
Earlier, Kairana MLA Nahid Hasan had allegedly appealed to the people of the Muslim community in his area to boycott shops owned by BJP members or supporters. A video of the SP leader stating the same had gone viral on social media.
Tacitly supporting the statements made by Hasan, Khan added that the Muslims are today being forced to choose between "kabristan ya Pakistan" (grave or Pakistan). He added that the Muslims had stayed back on the appeals of Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel and other prominent leaders but they were being dealt with badly today.
"Bapu, Maulana Azad, Sardar Patel, Nehru ji asked us to stay back. The Muslims who were about to leave the country stayed back. Bapu had assured us that this nation is as much ours as it is anyone else's. But what is the treatment being meted out? We are told our place is either in the grave or in Pakistan," Khan said.
( With inputs from ANI )