E-Paper
'The day all Muslims say Bharat Mata ki Jai': Vivek Agnihotri on Rishi Sunak debate
As Rishi Sunak became the prime minister of the United Kingdom, a debate over whether the same can happen in India began. While the BJP said India has had presidents and prime minister from the minority, filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri gave an answer to when India can get a Muslim PM.
Controversial filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri joined the debate triggered after Rishi Sunak became the prime minister of the United Kingdom and said the day all Muslims in India will say Bharat Mata ki Jai and Vande Mataram, India will be ready for a Muslim prime minister. Vivek Agnihotri's tweet was in reply to the tweet of a journalist.
"The day all Muslims of India will ban the word ‘Kafir’, speak unconditionally against Islamic Terrorism, commit Kashmir is integral part of India, identify as Bhartiya first then anything else & say with same vigour & commitment ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ and Vande Mataram’. You Ready?" the Kashmir Files director tweeted.
A BJP versus opposition war of words broke out after several Congress leaders including Shashi Tharoor, P Chidambaram questioned whether a person from the minority can become the prime minister in India. Citing the example of Manmohan Singh, the BJP said India has had one Sikh prime minister, one Sikh and three Muslim Presidents. The BJP also said there can't be any parallel between Rishi Sunak, born in the UK with Indian ancestry and Sonia Gandhi, who 'refused to take Indian citizenship for several decades after marriage with Rajiv'.
On Sunak's rise to power, former J&K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti said while the UK accepted an ethnic minority member as its PM, India is still shackled by NRC and CAA. To this, BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad asked her whether she will first accept a minority CM in J&K.
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, reacting to Rishi Sunak becoming the UK PM, reiterated his wish of seeing a hijab-clad Indian PM in his lifetime -- a wish he had expressed earlier during the hijab row.
