On July 17, Wednesday, the Union minister of textiles Giriraj Singh, stirring a major controversy, told the media, “It is unfortunate of this country, our ancestors should have sent all the Muslims in 1947 to Pakistan”.
“The biggest mistake was allowing Muslims to live here. If the country was divided based on Religion, why are Muslims living here?” he questioned.
“If Muslims didn’t live here, the situation would have been better,” he claimed.
The statements were in response to Tauqeer Raza, President of Ittehad-e millat Council, who had announced, speaking to the media, that IMC had sought permission to organize a mass wedding and religious conversion event on July 21.
After this announcement, Bareilly Police and district administration were on High alert. Many Hindutva groups accused him of creating disharmony during the holy month of Sawan and called it an attempt to incite violence.
According to Tauqeer Raza, the couples were already living together. He said the constitution allows it but this isn’t acceptable in Hinduism or Islam. He affirmed that his organization is not converting people for the sake of love.
Singh’s remarks on Muslims have triggered responses from social media users condemning his statements.
Giriraj Singh, known for making controversial statements about Muslims, Rohingyas and the Congress on many occasions, said that it’s important to “teach a lesson to Raza”. Adding to this he claimed that “Muslims stayed back to conspire and create similar situations in India”(referring to conversions)
