Safety, dignity of minorities will be protected: Naqvi

New Delhi, October 7

Amid the outrage over Dadri lynching incident, the government today promised to protect safety and dignity of minorities and prevent them from becoming a victim of “narrow-minded politics” as it said the “politics of hatred” needed to be defeated through unity and harmony.

The assurance was given by Minister of State for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi when he met a group of Muslim clerics and other members of the community, many of them from Uttar Pradesh, as part of efforts to instil confidence in them.

He assured them that religious and social rights of minorities are “absolutely safe" in the country and "some unfortunate incidents can't affect peace, unity and harmony".

Naqvi told the group, “we will protect safety, dignity and prosperity of minorities" and prevent them from becoming a victim of "narrow-minded politics of self-proclaimed champions of secularism", according to a statement issued by his office.

The “politics of hatred of professional and traditional hate-mongers" needed to be defeated through unity and harmony, the minister said while talking in the context of the lynching of a man in Dadri in Uttar Pradesh following beef-eating rumours.

Naqvi said the intention of the BJP is to take the country ahead on development path and the Narendra Modi government is working with commitment to good governance.

“We believe in politics of development, positive politics. We condemn divisive politics which creates confrontation in the society," he said, adding, "We will have to fight unitedly against those forces whose intentions are to destroy the country's social harmony."

"It is the responsibility of all of us to protect safety and socio-economic concerns of people of the country, especially the minorities, and narrow-minded political interests should not be allowed to come in the way of fulfilling this responsibility," the MoS for Minority Affairs told the Muslim community leaders.

"The BJP government is moving ahead with commitment to inclusive growth under the strong leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi so that progress of every section, every person is ensured, irrespective of his religion. India's unity is the strength of progress and if this unity is broken, this will destroy the fabric of development," he said.

Contending that "a conspiracy to block the country's progress has been exposed", Naqvi said, "those elements which want to destroy the nation's harmony, prosperity and security can be defeated by our unity only."

He said, "If we fall into the trap of these anti-national and anti-social forces, then it will be a matter of celebration for these evil elements."

The minister said it is time to "stop hurting sentiments for votes as the people of the country have repeatedly been giving this message and lesson to political champions of secularism".

He said the Modi government has taken "strong steps" for overall development of the underprivileged, dalits and poor sections, including minorities.

"This has created an atmosphere of trust among minorities but some merchants of votes are not able to digest this positive environment," said Naqvi, who is a senior BJP leader.

"We can't compromise on safety and social harmony of the country", he said, adding that "no obstacle in the way of good governance and development will be able to succeed". — PTI