Sambhal (UP), Oct 11 (PTI) Samajwadi MP from Sambhal Zia Ur Rehman on Saturday took a swipe at the Adityanath government over the visit of Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi to Uttar Pradesh, saying
the same dispensation had filed an FIR against his party leader for his remarks "supporting" the Taliban.
Muttaqi, who landed in New Delhi on Thursday on a six-day trip, is the first senior Taliban minister to visit India after the group seized power four years ago. India has not yet recognised the Taliban set up.
The Afghan foreign minister on Saturday visited Darul Uloom Deoband in Saharanpur, one of the most influential Islamic seminaries in South Asia.
In a post on Facebook in Hindi, Rehman said, "When the Government of India itself invites and welcomes Taliban minister Muttaqi to India, no one raises any questions. But when Sambhal MP Dr Shafiqur Rahman Barq made a statement about the Taliban, Yogi Adityanath said he (Barq) should be ashamed, and the UP police filed an FIR."
"Now, the same Taliban minister will visit the Taj Mahal in Agra and Deoband, and the Yogi government will provide him with full security. Why the double standards?? Now, who should be ashamed, and against whom will a report be filed?" he said in the post.
In August 2021, the then Lok Sabha MP from Sambhal, Shafiqur Rehman Barq, was booked for sedition for his remarks allegedly defending the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan and equating it with India's freedom struggle.
He was charged under the Indian Penal Code section 124A (sedition) following a complaint from BJP leader Rajesh Singhal.
The then MP was also booked under sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language) and 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs).
Responding to questions from reporters, Barq had said the Taliban wanted to free their country, and it was Afghanistan's internal matter.
He had called the Taliban a force that did not allow Russia or the United States to establish itself in Afghanistan, "and now they want to run their own country".
Endorsing the Taliban takeover, Barq had said the Afghans want to run their own country in the manner they wanted.
The remarks drew sharp criticism from Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
In the state legislative council, the chief minister had slammed the opposition MP.
"He was shamelessly supporting the Taliban. It means supporting their barbaric act. We are a parliamentary democracy. Where are we heading? We are supporting people who are a blot on humanity," the chief minister had then said. PTI NAV/MAN SMV RT
