New Delhi: Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Tuesday responded to the concerns raised by Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) over alleged incidents of “Islamophobia” in India. The Minister said that Muslims are prosperous in the country and those trying to vitiate the atmosphere cannot be their friends.
The OIC had urged India to take urgent steps to protect the rights of its minority Muslim community and put a bar against Islamophobia in the country.
Asked about the OIC’s criticism, Naqvi said, “We are doing our job with conviction. The prime minister whenever he speaks, he talks about the rights and welfare of 130 crore Indians.”
“If somebody cannot see this, then it is their problem. India’s Muslims, its minorities, all its sections of the society, are prosperous and those people trying to vitiate this atmosphere of prosperity, they cannot be friends of Indian Muslims,” he told reporters.
Responding to the criticims of scholars in Gulf countries, he said, “India is a heaven for Muslims and minorities.”
“In this country, there is such a large population of Muslims. An analysis of their educational, social and economic conditions in the last five years should be looked at, their share in government jobs has increased and they have been educationally and economically empowered,” Naqvi said.
