“Anyone who makes comments that cause a threat to internal security are even shot on the road," he said.
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Andhra Pradesh TDP MP TG Venkatesh on Sunday said that writer and social scientist Kancha Ilaiah was a 'traitor' who deserved to be 'hanged' in public.
“Anyone who makes comments that cause a threat to internal security are even shot on the road," he was quoted as saying.
Arya Vysya organisations have been holding protests in parts of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and burning the writer's effigies, seeking a ban on his book, "Samajika Smugglurlu Komatollu (Komatollu are social smugglers)".
The Rajya Sabha MP is an Arya Vysya himself, and is a leader of the community in the Rayalaseema region of Andhra.
Participating in a round table conference organised by the Arya Vysya Mahasabha in Hyderabad, Venkatesh said that he would file cases against Kancha, bring the issue to the Prime Minister's notice, and even raise it in Parliament.
Kancha has defended his book, telling reporters earlier, "Social Smuggling is a phrase. It is the economic process of exploitation, which means earning in business but not investing back into society."
Meanwhile, Arya Vysya Hakkula Sadhana Samithi founder-president, TG Bharat, told The Hans India, “We will file a petition in a Kurnool court on Monday. We are ready to move the Hyderabad High Court, if necessary. Our agitation will continue until proper action is initiated against Ilaiah."
After receiving several threatening phone calls for days, Kancha, an academician, sought police protection earlier this month, saying that he was facing a threat to his life.
Speaking at Sundarayya Vignana Kendram in Hyderabad earlier this week, Kancha declared, “If I die, Arya Vysyas will be responsible for my death.”
On Sunday, he continued to hit back at the protesters, challenging them to join the army to prove their patriotism.
“All through the day, they (Arya Vysyas) sit in air-conditioned offices and halls making money. None from the community is working at the borders. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a BC Arya Vysya and BJP president Amit Shah is also Arya Vysya. Why are they feeling angry if I ask them to give just 1% of their wealth to the poor? If 5% of the donations made to the BJP are given to farmers, there would be no farmer suicides in the country," he was quoted as saying.
Kancha also said that he was not afraid of death threats, and was even willing to walk around with a garland of slippers around his neck.
Kancha is presently the Director, Center for the Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy at Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU) in Hyderabad.
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