Maharashtra Assembly on Wednesday suspended Waris Pathan, a member of Asaduddin Owaisi's All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, after he refused to say "Bharat Mata Ki Jai", reported NDTV. This comes a day after the the AIMIM leader's remark that he won’t chant ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ even if a knife is put to his throat faced criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The incident took place when another AIMIM member of the Maharashtra Assembly questioned spending public money on memorials. To this, a Shiv Sena legislator retorted by asking him if he respected Indian greats and if he would to chant "Bharat Mata ki Jai". Hearing this, Pathan said chanting the slogan was a matter of choice and was not binding. “The Constitution does not say it. We will say Jai Hind. We won’t chant Bharatmata ki Jai.” The Congress was the the first to propose his suspension, and it was supported by legislators of all parties.
Pathan later responded to the developments:
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