Never felt discrimination as a Muslim, says Naseeruddin Shah

New Delhi, Sep 3 (IANS) Acclaimed actor Naseeruddin Shah Wednesday said he did not agree with Shabana Azmi's view that Muslims were discriminated against in India and added that he had never faced any such problem.

'I have never felt any discrimination. I have never been refused housing in Bombay. I have lived there in all kinds of conditions from a paying guest, sharing with six people to having two apartments of my own. I have never had these problems. I don't deny that these problems exist, but I don't think that Muslims are exclusively the victims,' Shah said.

'The less we nurse this persecution thing, the better it will be,' Shah told NDTV news channel on its programme 'India 60 Minutes'.

He added: 'I think that when the occasion arises, anyone is discriminated against. I can cite instances when Hindus have been discriminated against; forget about Christians, Sikhs, Parsis and so on.'

Shabana last week told another news channel that Muslims were often treated as second-class citizens. She said: 'I cannot get a house in Mumbai. I wanted to buy a flat in Mumbai and it wasn't given to me because I was a Muslim, and I read the same about Saif (Ali Khan).'

'Now, I mean, if Javed Akhtar and Shabana Azmi cannot get a flat in Mumbai because they are Muslims, then what are we talking about?' said Azmi.