Mumbai, Jul 21: Veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah Sunday expressed solidarity with the family members of those killed in incidents of mob lynching in the country.

Speaking at a national convention on the theme of 'state complicity in hate crimes' in Dadar here, Shah said the victims and kin of mob lynchings have suffered a lot.

The event was organised by Democratic Youth Federation of India.

"I feel proud to be with them (kin of victims) in this programme and salute their courage. They have faced a lot more than us in their life. We have faced not even two per cent of their sufferings," he said.

The actor said he had often been often criticised for his remarks.

"Some called me a traitor, some asked me to go to Pakistan. But these taunts were nothing in comparison with the pain of those people who suffered mob attacks," he said, adding that "My admiration, sympathy and company will always be with these people".

In the past, Shah had been criticised sharply over his comments on rising incidents of mob violence in the country.

He had said that the death of a cow was being given importance over killing of a policeman in mob lynching in Bulandshahr.

Shah had said that he was worried for children in today's India because he imagines a situation where his children may be surrounded by an angry mob and asked: "Are you Hindu or Muslim?" 

His comments had drawn sharp reactions from political quarters.

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Chandigarh (PTI): The Congress on Thursday announced candidates for eight of the nine Lok Sabha seats it is contesting in Haryana, fielding former Union minister Kumari Selja, Rajya Sabha MP Deepender Hooda and youth leader Divyanshu Budhiraja, besides two sitting MLAs.

The party has also fielded former MP Jai Prakash and leaders Satpal Brahmachari and Mahendra Pratap, according to the list released late Thursday evening.

The Congress is contesting nine of the 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana. It has not yet announced its candidate for the Gurugram constituency.

The Aam Aadmi Party, a constituent of the opposition INDIA bloc, will contest the Kurukshetra seat.

Congress general secretary and former Union minister Selja will contest from the Sirsa (reserved) seat and sitting MLAs Varun Choudhary and Rao Dan Singh from the Ambala (reserved) and the Bhiwani-Mahendragarh Lok Sabha seats, respectively.

Deepender Hooda, son of former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, will enter the fray from Rohtak. He has represented the Rohtak parliamentary constituency three times in the past.

Jai Prakash has been fielded from Hisar, the Congress' Haryana youth wing president Divanshu Budhiraja from Karnal, Satpal Brahmachari from Sonipat and Mahendra Pratap from Faridabad.