Nazia Elahi Khan’s statement at a press conference is dangerous and unlawful, says Congress MP Syed Naseer Hussain
NEW DELHI — A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Minority Morcha leader has drawn severe criticism for urging Hindus to boycott Muslims in government and private sector employment for the next two to three years.
Nazia Elahi Khan’s call drew sharp criticism from opposition leaders and activists who described the remarks as discriminatory, divisive, and unconstitutional. They also said such statements threaten secular values and promote religious polarisation.
Khan, who describes herself as a ‘Sanatani Muslim,’ has made similar inflammatory statements before. Her latest remarks have gone viral on social media. She has a long record of targeting the Muslim community in public speeches and online posts.
Speaking to the media, Khan claimed India was not only fighting terrorists from Pakistan but also “its own people within the country who worship Pakistan.”
She went on to allege that Muslims were running several forms of covert campaigns, including what she termed “thook jihad,” “moot jihad,” “love conversion jihad,” “land jihad,” and “friendship jihad,” to convert Hindus.
Citing alleged security concerns, she said, “120 crore Hindus need to become alert as soon as possible,” and called for Muslims to be “boycotted from everywhere,” including “private job, government job, private sector, government sector.”
She further argued that “for 2-3 years, it is very important to boycott Muslims,” while questioning the patriotism of Muslims, whom she accused of placing “Islam first” and the Constitution later.
Responding to the statement, Congress Rajya Sabha MP Syed Naseer Hussain said the call is “a blatant attack on the Constitution of India and the secular foundations of our republic.”
Hussain also condemned what he described as a misrepresentation of Islamic scripture, stating, “Equally condemnable is the reckless attempt to spread hatred through a deliberate misinterpretation of the Holy Qur’an. Selectively citing Surah Al-Baqarah and Surah At-Tawbah to demonize an entire community and justify discrimination is deeply offensive to the faith and sentiments of believers.”
“Deliberately distorting religious scripture to portray millions of Indian Muslims as disloyal, violent, or unfit for employment is not only intellectually dishonest but also dangerous,” he said, adding that efforts to normalise the economic and social boycott of Muslims were “a dangerous and unlawful act that strikes at the very foundations of constitutional democracy, public order, and communal harmony.”
Referring to remarks made by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi at a meeting of the Congress Minority Department, Hussain said the incident demonstrated how Muslims were being “weaponised by the BJP for political polarisation and electoral gain.”
“Indian Muslims are equal citizens of this republic. They are not targets for discrimination, exclusion, or boycott,” he asserted.
Hussain also demanded an apology from the BJP, saying the party “must apologise to the Muslim community for the deliberate misrepresentation of the Holy Qur’an, to all believers whose faith has been insulted, and to the people of India for advocating an unconstitutional, discriminatory, and divisive boycott based solely on religion.”
Journalist Mohammed Zubair also criticised the remarks. In a post addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he wrote, “This is your minority leader doing a press conference and openly asking 120 crore Hindus to boycott Indian Muslims in private jobs and government jobs.”
“Not one news channel stopped her and called her out for spreading hate. That’s how normalised it is to spread hate in India,” Zubair added.
He noted that “BJP is openly giving out a press statement asking Hindus to economically and socially boycott Muslims and the media isn’t bothered; instead, they are happy to amplify her.”
Zubair also criticised the coverage of the press conference by Indo-Asian News Service (IANS). Tagging businessman Gautam Adani, Zubair alleged that the agency had circulated the BJP leader’s remarks without highlighting what he described as hate speech.
“Forget the reporters questioning her open call for boycotting Muslims, they even pushed this video without even mentioning the hate speech,” he wrote, arguing that the incident reflected how “news channels have normalised hate against Muslims in India.”
Journalist Vaishna Roy tagged Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, recalling his recent assertion that allegations of persecution of religious minorities in India are “nothing but propaganda” spread by the opposition, to question that claim in light of the controversy.
Calling it an “apartheid-style statement,” journalist Zeba Warsi criticised sections of the media for providing a platform to such views.
“A leader of Modi’s party openly calls for boycotting India’s 200 million Muslims. Asks them not to be given government jobs and private jobs,” she wrote, adding that “not one mic moved even after her apartheid-style statement.”
Khan has repeatedly courted controversy over remarks targeting Muslims and Islamic institutions.
Critics have accused her of promoting anti-Muslim stereotypes and communal hostility through calls for the social and economic boycott of Muslims, opposition to mosques, madrasas, and Waqf institutions, and comments linking Muslims to extremism and security threats.
Last year, Khan claimed she had been attacked by Muslim men while traveling to the Mahakumbh, a claim later rejected by the Kanpur Police, which said the incident was caused by the driver falling asleep and urged her not to spread misleading information.
She also faced criticism after a video showed her confronting IndiGo airline employees at Mumbai airport, where she was heard making remarks referencing Muslim names, prompting allegations of religious profiling and harassment.
