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'I speak for country': BJP leader on 'Muslims in India' row over Modi's US visit; 'Mathew, Mohammad, Madhav…'
"I’m an Indian Muslim & I speak for my country & party on all important platforms- nationally and globally," Shehzad Poonawalla on Muslims in India.
As US politicians including former US president Barack Obama raised questions about Muslims in India during PM Modi's historic state visit to the United States, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla issued a statement as both an Indian Muslim and a national spokesperson of the party in which he said in India Mary, Mathew, Mohammad, Madhav, Shilpa and Sultana get the same benefit. Read | Modi in US: Behind breakthrough pacts, weeks of parleys
"I’m the national spokesperson of the world’s largest Democratic Party -@BJP4India led by PM Modi. I’m an Indian Muslim & I speak for my country & party on all important platforms- nationally and globally," Poonawalla wrote.
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"When we ensure 80cr or 800 million people get free rations, 11 cr or 110 million get toilets, 11cr or 110 million households get tapped water connections, 35 million poor get concrete houses - it goes to Mary, Mathew, Mohammad, Madhav, Shilpa & Sultana," the BJP spokesperson added.
Two Muslim Democrats --Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib -- and Alexandria Ocasion-Cortex boycotted PM Modi's address to the joint session of US Senate and House accusing the Modi government of 'repressing religious minorities'.
"Don’t need lectures about minority rights from someone who has made anti semitic comments , patronises Islamist radicals & has no track record to speak of on the said subject," Shehzad wrote in a strong jibe at Ilhan Omar.
Muslim activist Subuhi Khan said Muslims in India are not a minority but the second largest majority. "We are not tolerated but celebrated in our country. Stop spreading lies for your political gains. let Indian Muslims decide for themselves," Subuhi slammed Ilhan Omar.
Read | 'I live freely in PM Modi's India': Muslim leader's reply to US lawmaker Ilhan Omar
'Muslims in India' issue during PM Modi's US visit: Ilhan Omar, Barack Obama
The minorities issue reared its head several times since PM Modi embarked on his three-day state visit to the US. 75 lawmakers wrote US President Biden asking him to raise the issue of political intolerance, press freedom with PM Modi. Former US president Barack Obama, in an interview, said if he had a conversation with PM Modi, he would have referred to the issue of the "rights of ethnic minorities in India".
"By the way, if I had a conversation with Prime Minister Modi, who I know well, part of my argument would be that if you do not protect the rights of ethnic minorities in India, then there is a strong possibility that India, at some point, starts pulling apart. And we have seen what happens when you start getting those kinds of large internal conflicts. So that would be contrary to the interests not just of Muslim Indians but also Hindu Indians. I think it is important to be able to talk about these things honestly. Things are not going to be as clean as you like, because the world is complicated," Obama told CNN.
