Hannan Mollah, the CPM leader and former Lok Sabha MP, spoke out against the Union State Minister Pratap Sarangi for his comment on 'Vande Mataram'. On Saturday, Pratap Sarangi spoke at the Jan Jagran Sabha in Odisha and said, "When the staunch opposition parties of BJP have supported Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision of scrapping Article 370, the Congress objected it. Amit Shah has made it clear to Congress leaders that Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Siachen are also part of India. Those who do not accept Vande Mataram, have no right to live in India".

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'Targetting a Specific Community'

In response to Sarangi's statement, the CPM leader while speaking to ANI, said, "These anti-national remarks are always given by the Ministers and BJP-RSS leaders. This is not the first time that the BJP leader has given out such a statement. They want to create division in society with such remarks." Hannan Mollah also claimed that the aim of such a comment is to target a specific community. The leader also took a hit at Manohar Lal Khattar, the Chief Minister of Haryana, who said that foreigners cannot stay in India without approval. "Foreigners cannot stay in India is a law, what is new in this. He raises questions who are foreigners. In name of foreigners what they are doing? Law is in its own place but how are foreigners misusing it."

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'Simple man a Minister'

Union State Minister Pratap Sarangi said that the BJP consists of simple men where a tea seller can become the Prime Minister, a newspaper hawker can become the President, and a man living in a hut can get an opportunity to serve the people as their representative. The Minister claimed that PM Modi trusted him and give him the opportunity by making him a Union Minister. He claimed to be shocked when he was called by Amit Shah, the Union Home Minister, to be sworn as the Union Minister.

(With ANI inputs)

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