The CAA was needed to fast track citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan 
In this photo taken on April 30, 2023, Muslims gather during a congregation in Ahmedabad, India. — AFP
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.
According to Darab Farooqui, a songwriter, “Do your best, Giriraj. I was born an Indian and the best you can do is kill me. But, even then, I will die as an Indian. Cry more and seethe.”
Another X user said, “…The biggest mistake was allowing Aryans to settle in India and not stopping them from imposing their filthy caste system which turned the original natives of India into slaves on the very land that they were born in.” Journalist Rohinis Singh said, “If there were no Muslims in India, the BJP wouldn’t exist and Giriraj Singh wouldn’t be made minister.”
Meanwhile, Indian state of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday claimed that the Muslim population in his state was growing around 30 percent every 10 years, and they would become the majority by 2041. Addressing a press conference in Guwahati, he said Muslims have now become 40 percent of Assam’s population as per “statistical sampling”. “By 2041, Assam will become a Muslim-majority state. It’s a reality and nobody can stop it,” he asserted. The chief minister said the population of the Hindu community is rising by around 16 percent every 10 years.
