Speaking exclusively at e-Agenda Aaj Tak, Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said that while all Muslims should not be punished for the “criminal negligence” of Tablighi Jamaat members, it is because of the event that coronavirus spread to all parts of the country.

New Delhi, May 9:

Union Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said that the third phase of the lockdown would not have been needed if the Tablighi Jamaat event did not become a super spreader.

Speaking exclusively at e-Agenda Aaj Tak, Naqvi held that while all Muslims should not be punished for the “criminal negligence” of Tablighi Jamaat members, it is because of the event that coronavirus spread to all parts of the country.

“Their [Tablighi Jamaat’s] crime is not the crime of all Muslims. What they did will be punished through legal means… maybe we would not have needed Lockdown 3.0 if such criminal negligence had not taken place and because of one organisation’s mistake a nationwide spread would not have happened,” he said.

Many Muslim public personalities have said that the Covid-19 pandemic and Nizamuddin Markaz event has been used to spread Islamophobia in the country.

According to Naqvi, these grievances are not based on facts but “an attempt to malign the country’s image internationally”.

“Today we need hope and not horror but some people are creating an environment of fear and using it to spread disharmony,” he said.

“…Because some people couldn’t raise any objections against the inclusive developmental approach of this government in the past 6 years, therefore they are now creating fake and fabricated. This is not an issue of Hinduphobia or Islamophobia. It is about the attempt to malign the nation’s image internationally,” he added.

Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi also commented on a letter written Delhi Minorities Commission chief Zafarul Islam who has come under fire for controversial remarks.

On April 28, Islam had written a Facebook post wherein he thanked Kuwait for taking note of the “persecution” of Indian Muslims in the context of the northeast Delhi violence. A case of sedition has been filed against him.

Naqvi maintained that such remarks should not be tolerated by any government.

“If such a person was in our government, he would have been pulled up by the ears and thrown out. Action would also have been taken against him. Unfortunately, he is a Delhi government appointee but such a dangerous mentality on a sensitive topic should not be entertained,” he said.

The Union Minority Affairs Minister also praised the efforts made by the Muslim community to not give in to any propaganda or fear and fully participate in the government’s efforts to stop Covid-19.

“The Muslim community has said no to all propaganda and followed all rules. No mass celebrations at were seen Shab e Raat, no namaz is happening at mosques, no public iftar is happening. Waqf boards have contributed Rs 51 crore to government relief funds. There are 16 Haj houses in the country, they have all contributed their premises to the government to be used as isolation centres,” he elaborated.

He also warned the majority community to not fall prey to rumours circulating on social media that harm social harmony.

Courtesy: NDTV