NEW DELHI: Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju on Saturday took on the opposition over claims about alleged suppression of minorities and cautioned against words and actions that could diminish the image of the country.
Rijiju, who is also minority affairs minister, said India was way ahead of developed nations as it has equal voting rights for all citizens since Independence. “In America, non-whites (coloured) got voting rights in 1965,” he said during a debate in Lok Sabha on 75 years of the Constitution’s adoption.
He shared survey reports on how 48% in the EU were discriminated against, with most of them being Muslims. He also spoke about reports of discrimination against minorities in countries like Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, and said when minorities face problems they seek refuge in India. “They are safe here. That’s why minorities come to India. Then why is it said that the minorities aren’t protected in the country,” Rijiju asked. “Some incidents can occur between majority and minority communities, or between individuals, or within households, but to say Sikhs aren’t being allowed to go to gurdwara, Muslims are being stopped from going to dargah, is wrong. We shouldn’t say things that diminish the image of our country.”
A brief altercation occurred during Rijiju’s speech, when SP chief Akhilesh Yadav rose to point out how minorities were being disenfranchised from their right, an apparent reference to allegations of Muslims being blocked from voting in the recent byelections in UP. Rijiju said he would not respond to the allegations as it would delve into discussing the law and order situation when SP was in office in the state.
BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad slammed Congress over Emergency. He said the framers of the Constitution knew that Indian heritage is secular in nature as mentioned in “Rigveda”. He highlighted torture that he and late Sushil Modi faced during Emergency. He also said nails of RSS workers were pulled out and George Fernandes’s brother was almost killed.