AIMIM supremo Asaddudin Owaisi slammed Lalpura for his remarks belittling concerns of minorities
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI – Iqbal Singh Lalpura, chairperson of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM), courted a controversy when he said religious minorities in India are not facing atrocities. Lalpura was speaking at an event organised at Ambedkar International Centre to mark the National Minorities’ Rights Day on December 18.
He was quoted by The Wire as saying, “Jis desh mein hum rehte hain diversity mein unity hai. Jahan diversity hai… thoda bahut chalta rehta hai,” (In India, there is unity in diversity. Some (such) things are bound to happen when there is diversity).
Minority Rights Day Celebration, 18 December, 2021.
National Minority Commission Chairman Iqbal Singh Lalpura: No religion based atrocities against minorities in India.
“Jis desh me hum rehta hain diversity me unity hai. Jahan diversity hai…thoda bohot chalta rehta hai.” pic.twitter.com/zIBfePy0aB
— Ismat Ara (@IsmatAraa) December 18, 2021
The event was attended among others by Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Union Minister of Minority Affairs, John Barla, MoS, Ministry of Minority Affairs and Atif Rasheed, Vice-Chairperson of the Commission.
Speaking on the occasion, Naqvi criticised the Opposition for its stand on the legislation for criminalisation of the practice of triple talaq, women travelling alone for Haj, raising legal age of women for marriage. He called it “Talibani mentality” which he said “will not work in India”.
The Commission for Minorities is entrusted with the task of monitoring efforts of the Union and state governments towards the development of minorities and also looking into violation of luminosity rights within the country.
Lalpura assumed the charge of chairman in September 2021 after commission remained headless for around 15 months. His remarks, which have evoked sharp reactions from the Opposition, have come at a time when BJP-ruled Karnataka is all set to enact an anti-conversion law that effectively bans Muslim and Christian ministries from propagating their religion. There has been a spike in the attacks on churches by Hindu extremists accusing Christian priests of indulging in forced conversions.
A recent report by People’s Union for Civil Liberties which rubbished the claims of “forced conversions” in the state accused Karnataka Police of colluding with mobs who attacked the Christians.
AIMIM supremo Asaddudin Owaisi slammed Lalpura for his remarks belittling concerns of minorities.
“Even one loss of life is too much but Chairman sb believes systemic custodial torture, pogroms & lynchings are ok,” Owaisi said as he gave reference to anti-Sikh and anti-Muslim riots that took place in the country in the last forty years. “Delhi 1984 & 2020, Guj 2002, Muzaffarnagar 2013, etc weren’t “thoda bahut”, he remarked.
