ISLAMABAD: An Indian Union minister has declared that “our ancestors” were guilty of a “major lapse” by not sending all Muslims to Pakistan during partition in 1947.
Addressing the BJP district working committee in Purnia the other day, Singh stated that if only all Muslims had been forced to leave India in 1947, then there would not have been any protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA).
“The time has come to dedicate ourselves to the cause of country. Before 1947, our ancestors had been fighting for the independence of the country and [Muhammad Ali] Jinnah was planning to make India an Islamic state. Our ancestors committed a major lapse for which we are paying the price today – if at that time the Muslims had been sent there [Pakistan], we would not have had to face this situation,” he said.
The CAA was needed to fast track citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
“If Bharatvanshi (people of Indian origin) will not get a place in India, then which other country will give them asylum,” he said. Singh was on a two-day tour to Purnia to create awareness about the CAA among BJP workers.
Following Giriraj Singh’s latest remarks, BJP’s alliance partners, LJP and JD (United) criticised him for his statement against Muslims.