Citizens who “instigated Islamic nations against India” after the controversy over derogatory remarks on Prophet Muhammad broke out, should be charged with treason, said Information Commissioner Uday Mahurkar on Wednesday.

“Theirs is [an] anti-national activity,” Mahurkar wrote on Twitter. “Even their property could be attached by enacting a law.”

Mahurkar, a former journalist, was appointed as a information commissioner at the Central Information Commission in 2020, according to Newslaundry. The Central Information Commission is the topmost statutory body that deals with Right to Information applications.

On his website, Mahurkar claims to be an expert on four subjects – Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, the growth of radical Islamic movements in South Asia and medieval history.

Mahurkar’s comments came days after a massive diplomatic outrage by several Muslim-majority countries against India over the remarks made by two Bharatiya Janata Party spokespersons about Prophet Muhammad.

Twenty countries and organisations of Muslim-dominated nations have condemned the remarks made by BJP spokespersons Nupur Sharma and Naveen Jindal.

Sharma made the remarks during a debate on the Times Now television channel on May 26. Meanwhile, Jindal, who was media head of the BJP’s Delhi unit, had posted a tweet on June 1 about the Prophet, which he later deleted.

The BJP had suspended Sharma and expelled Jindal on Sunday after a number of West Asian countries summoned Indian envoys. On the same day, the Centre had said that the controversial comments had been made by “fringe elements” and they did not reflect the views of the Indian government.