Mumbai: Condemning the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government at the Centre and Democratic Front (DF) Government in Maharashtra for allowing British writer of Indian origin Salman Rushdie to enter the country, Muslim organisations in the city today (Jan 12, 2004) threatened to "take law in their hands if both the Governments failed to send him out the country".

Meanwhile, the Maharashtra Government extended security at the Taj Mahal Hotel in South Mumbai where Rushdie is camping with his companion, Padma Lakshmi. They are scheduled to leave the city tonight.

The Muslim organisations staged a dharna at Azad Maidan to register their protest on the stay of Rushdie in the city and the country. They also announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh to "blacken" the face of Rushdie, who arrived in Mumbai after a Christmas holiday in North India.

The All India Sunni Jamiatul Ulema, the Raza Academy, the Anjuman Barkaate Raza, the Tanzeem Aimmae Masjid and other Muslim organisations said the State Home Minister had assured them two days ago that Rushdie would be sent out of the State.

"We don't want to create tension in the city and the Government should ask the writer to leave immediately," a Muslim cleric told reporters, adding the writer was reportedly still in the city hotel.

"The writer is a 'white-collared terrorist' and the Government should respect our feelings by sending him out of the country," he added.

Rushdie, against whom Muslim clerics had issued a "fatwa" for his alleged blasphemous writings about Islam in his book 'Satanic Verses', had been staying in a high-security area in the United Kingdom so far.