New Delhi: Senior BJP leader and Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi slammed former Vice President Hamid Ansari for his anti-India remarks made in a virtual conference organised by anti-India organizations in the US. He criticised India's democracy and said at the event that there is an atmosphere of ‘intolerance and insecurity in the country’.
Former Vice President Hamid Ansari, while addressing the Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) programme, had reportedly said, "Hindu nationalism is a matter of concern. People are being divided on religious lines in the country. Controversy is being created among the people regarding nationality."
"Especially people of a particular religion are being instigated. Intolerance is being fueled and an atmosphere of insecurity is being created in the country," he added.
Hamid Ansari, Actress Swara Bhasker, Archbishop Peter Machado among others were invited to the event titled ‘Protecting India’s Pluralist Constitution’ on the eve of Indian Republic day, January 26 at 10:30 PM IST.
Responding to Ansari's statement, Naqvi said that the 'madness for Prime Minister Narendra Modi bashing is turning into a conspiracy for India bashing'.
"If one gets into India bashing while bashing Modi, you can expect such voices…. People who used to exploit minority votes are now anxious about the prevailing positive environment in the country," he said.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) also criticised Ansari for his anti-India comments. VHP spokesperson Vinod Bansal said, "Why do people like Hamid Ansari fall straight down as soon as they step down from constitutional posts? Why does the Jihadi Islam within them dominate as soon as they come in touch with organisations like PFI and IAMC?"
Bahujan Samaj Party national spokesperson Sudhindra Bhadoria on Thursday expressed disagreement with the controversial statement made by former Vice-President Hamid Ansari and said that the people of India believe in 'Sarvadharma Sambhav'.
Ansari had reportedly said at an event that there is an atmosphere of "intolerance and insecurity in the country", to which Bhadoria added that he should read history.
Speaking with ANI, Bhadoria, "Some individuals or groups do not represent the whole country; Hamid Ansari should clarify what he wants to say by saying such a thing near crucial assembly elections."
The BSP spokesperson further said that "for a person who has held such an important Constitutional post as the country's Vice President, Ansari should also read the history of the nation and see that the people here believe in the idea of 'Sarvadharma Sambhav' since thousands of years."
"The religion of Buddhism, which was preached by Mahatma Buddha, has spread all over the world and people also believe in him. People believe in all the new religions that have come," Bhadoria added.
According to a recent expose done by DisInfo Lab, The IAMC has allegedly paid money to lobby groups in the USA to get India black-listed by the USCIRF (United States Commission on International Religious Freedom). It has also alleged that IANC is linked with Islamist-terrorist outfits like Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI).
"IAMC founder Shaik Ubaid collected fund in the name of Rohingyas and paid to Lobby firm FGR for getting India blacklisted by USCIRF! FGR head Terry Allen was a long time associate of Nadine Maenza, USCIRF Chair, who is also ‘saving pluralism’ in India," a tweet posted by DisInfo Lab read.
'UAPA was imposed on IAMC last year for spreading fake news to incite communal violence and reinforce the narrative of minority plight in India from fabricated stories on CAA to Tripura violence' it," it added.
