Mumbai, May 21 (PTI): A young MBA graduate in Mumbai has alleged a diamond export company denied him a job because he is a Muslim, prompting the National Commission for Minorities to seek an explanation from the business house.

The alleged incident also drew criticism from the Centre, which said religious discrimination would not be allowed.

Management graduate Zeeshan Ali Khan said he had applied for a job at Hare Krishna Exports Pvt Ltd on May 19 and received a response within 15 minutes saying "we hire only non-Muslim candidates".

"Thanks for your application. We regret to inform you that we hire only non-Muslim candidates," Zeeshan quoted from the email he received from the company.

The company has put the blame for the "blunder" on a trainee.

Zeeshan said he had been looking for a job and came to know about a recruitment drive at Hare Krishna, one of the leading export houses in the country.

"I applied for a job the day before yesterday at 5.45pm and got a reply within 15 minutes. I was quite shocked. I took a screen shot of the mail and posted it on Facebook," Zeeshan said.

He added: "At a time Prime Minister Narendra Modi is visiting foreign countries, inviting them for investment and pushing ahead with the Make in India campaign, leading export houses are rejecting candidates for their religion."

As Zeeshan's social media post triggered outrage, the company sent another email to him, blaming a trainee in its human resource team with no decision-making powers for the "blunder".

"It was a blunder and personal mess created by one of our trainees who has no decision-making power. We have 61 employees in our office here, including one Muslim in the HR team," Hare Krishna exports said in the mail.

Commission chairperson Naseem Ahmed said he would call the company up for its comments and then decide on the course of action.

"If there is any truth in it, it's unfortunate. An inquiry should be conducted," he said.

Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, the junior minister for minority affairs, too reacted to the controversy.

"A person's caste, region or religion cannot be a demerit. Discrimination on the basis of religion is neither allowed by our system nor the Constitution," Naqvi said.

"If there has been a case in which he (Zeeshan) was denied or fired from the job only on the basis of his religion, I feel it's not right."