Declare MNS a terrorist outfit: minority panel chief

Nagpur, Oct 21 (UNI) Maharashtra State Minority Commission Chairman Naseem Siddiqui today demanded that the government should declare Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) a terrorist organisation.

Speaking to mediapersons here, Mr Siddiqui said the Election Commission (EC) should also cancel the registration granted to MNS as a political party. ''MNS is not a political party. It's a bunch of hooligans who are spreading terror among the people,'' he said.

The outfit was a gang of unemployed youth between 18 and 30 years of age, all of whom have been misguided by MNS chief Raj Thackeray, Mr Siddiqui said.

''Raj is mentally very ill. The government should send him to a good mental asylum for treatment,'' he added. The police and the administration had taken the right step by arresting Raj, Mr Siddiqui said, criticising the MNS attacks on North Indian candidates at Railway Board examination in Mumbai last Sunday.

Mr Siddiqui also demanded a ban on the Bajrang Dal (BD), saying the organisation was spreading terror in the name of religion. The involvement of BD activists in some recent blasts and in the manufacture of crude bombs was a clear indication of this, he said.

However, there was no need for a ban on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) because its activities were not violent in nature, Mr Siddiqui said. Asked if he would meet RSS functionaries while in Nagpur, the organisation's headquarters, Mr Siddiqui said, ''I am willing to have a discussion with them in national interest, provided they are ready for a meaningful dialogue.'' UNI AB SR SKB AKJ SB BD1902