Obama's visit won't benefit India, says AIMPLB member

A group of Muslims, led by the noted Shia cleric and member of All India Muslim Personal Law Board
Maulana Kalbe Jawwad, staged a demonstration on Friday, in Lucknow, against the visit of US president Barack Obama.

Scores of people, holding placards that read "Obama go back, dont disturb Muslims" and "American agent murdabad", gathered outside Bara Imambara after offering the Friday prayers in Lucknow.

Branding both Israel and the US as anti-Muslims, Jawwad said that the central government should change the national policy towards these nations.

"The visit of Obama will not benefit the country in anyway and linking it with progress is baseless," Jawwad said.

The agitators also burnt an effigy of the US president. Heavy police force was deployed to check any untoward incident during protest, which passed off peacefully.

Image: A demonstrator carries an effigy of U.S. President Barack Obama during a protest in Lucknow.

Photograph: Pawan Kumar/Reuters