Cancel Rushdie visa: Deoband

Opposing controversial author Salman Rushdies visit to India,leading Islamic Seminary Darul Uloom Deoband on Monday said the Central government should cancel his visa as he had hurt religious sentiments of Muslims in the past.

Rushdie,65,who had earned the wrath of Muslims worldwide due to his novel The Satanic Verses,is set to attend the Jaipur Literature Festival this month end. Rushdie won the Man Booker Prize for his novel Midnights Children in 1981.

Indian government should cancel his visa as Rushdie had annoyed the religious sentiments of Muslims in the past, Maulana Abul Qasim Nomani,the vice-chancellor of the Darul Uloom,said in a statement on Monday.