Janata Dal-United (JD-U) MP Monazir Hassan also said that in a democracy everyone has a right to express his views.

'I am not in favour of banning the book. It is not justified, in a democracy every one has a right to express his views,' Hassan told IANS.

The BJP leadership has left it to the respective governments in the BJP ruled states to decide whether to ban the book or not.

'It depends on the state whether to ban the book or not. It is their right to decide,' party spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said when asked if the party would like the book to be banned in BJP-ruled states.

Among these states, Karnataka has already declared it will not ban the book, while the Madhya Pradesh government was SDaturday reported to be of the also of the view that the book should not be banned.