Madhya Pradesh, MP kashmir files comments, Niyaz Khan, Vivek Agnihotri, Vishwas sarang, Kashmir Files, Kashmiri pandit, Muslims, Brahmins, India news, Indian express, Indian express news, current affairs
Niyaz Khan and Vishwas Sarang (File/Twitter: @saifasa)

THE TIMES OF INDIA (March 24, 2022)

Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh home minister Narottam Mishra on Wednesday said the government will issue a notice to IAS officer Niyaz Khan for ‘The Kashmir Files’ tweets. Khan, who is posted as deputy secretary with the public works department, had urged makers of ‘The Kashmir Files’ to also make a film on the “killings of large numbers of Muslims across several states”.

In a series of tweets on Holi, Khan also appealed to the film producers to transfer all the earnings from the movie for the education of the children of Kashmiri Pandits and construction of homes for them in Kashmir. BJP leaders were outraged by Khan’s tweets and medical education minister Vishwas Sarang accused him of “trying to spread anarchy”. The film’s director, Vivek Agnihotri, had sought an appointment with Khan for “exchanging ideas”.
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THE INDIAN EXPRESS (March 21, 2022)

An IAS officer in Madhya Pradesh has run into trouble with the state government over tweets calling on the makers of The Kashmir Files to also produce movies on the “killings of (a) large number of Muslims across several states”.

Niyaz Khan, who is currently the deputy secretary in the state Public Works Department (PWD), tweeted last week, “Kashmir File shows the pain of Brahmins. They should be allowed to live safely in Kashmir with all honour. The producer must also make a movie to show the killings of large number of Muslims across several states…”

In another tweet on Sunday, the IAS officer congratulated the film’s producers on the movie touching the Rs 150-crore revenue mark, and said that since people had “given a lot of respect for Kashmiri Brahmins’ feelings” the film’s makers should “transfer all earnings to Brahmin children’s education” and build homes for them in Kashmir.

In response, The Kashmir Files director Vivek Agnihotri asked Khan for an appointment in Bhopal on March 25. “We can meet and exchange ideas how we can help and how you can help with the royalty of your books and your power as an IAS officer,” Agnihotri tweeted on Sunday.

Khan, who is the author of eight books, has also said he is thinking about writing a book on the “massacre of Muslims on different occasions” so that the “suffering of minorities could be brought before Indians”.

Taking umbrage at the IAS officer’s comments, state Medical Education Minister Vishvas Sarang accused him of “firqa parasti (sectarianism)” and called for his removal from the PWD.

The minister told reporters that Khan violated the IAS service conduct rules by making the comments, and added that he would complain against him to the personnel department.