Ayodhya priest burns Owaisi poster, says 'anti-national' leaders will be next

Paramhans Das, the priest of Ayodhya's Tapasvi Chhawani temple, on Friday burnt a poster of AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi over his alleged provocative remarks and warned "anti-national" leaders that tomorrow it will be them instead of the poster.

He also targeted Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for not visiting the party-ruled Rajasthan where a tailor was hacked to death by two men to avenge an "insult to Islam".

Accusing All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen president Owaisi of making inflammatory statements, Das said such statements are increasing terrorist activities.

"All anti-national leaders should come to their senses. Today the poster was burnt, tomorrow (they) will be burnt alive," he said.

Speaking to reporters, Das hit out at Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, saying that they visit the states where the Congress is not in power and launch protests over minor issues but none of them has visited Rajasthan.

Das burnt Owaisi's poster at the Badosarai intersection in Barabanki.

While the poster was being burnt, police personnel reached the spot in large numbers and snatched it. They escorted Das out of the limits of the police station area.

Two men, identified as Riaz Akhtari and Ghouse Mohammad, hacked tailor Kanhaiya Lal to death at his shop in the Dhan Mandi area in Rajasthan's Udaipur on Tuesday.

Later, they posted videos online in which they said that they were avenging an "insult to Islam", triggering stray cases of violence in Udaipur, a part of which was placed under curfew.

The two accused have been arrested.