'India heaven for Muslims; social, economic, religious rights secure here': Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on OIC's earlier remarks

The Union Minister of Minority Affairs, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, on Tuesday, said that "India is heaven for Muslims" and that the community's social, economic, and religious rights are secure here in this country. He also said that India's Muslims are prosperous and "those trying to vitiate the atmosphere" cannot be their friends.

Naqvi's statement comes in response to an earlier statement by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) regarding the alleged "Islamophobia" in India.

The OIC had, in a statement on Sunday, urged India to take "urgent steps" to protect the fundamental rights of the members of the Muslim community in the country and had also asked to check the reports of alleged Islamophobia. The OIC's Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission had also said that Indian media publications were negatively profiling the Muslims and subjecting them to discrimination.

Today, Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi "talks about the rights and welfare of 130 crore Indians" and remarked that "secularism" and "harmony" was not a political issue in India but is one of "perfect fashion".

The Minority Affairs minister also warned against conspiracies to spread misinformation by the "traditional and professional bogus bashing brigades" on social media and said it was important to remain cautious of "such evil forces".

Notably, Prime Minister Modi had on Sunday said that the coronavirus affects everyone equally regardless of their faith, caste or colour.

"COVID-19 does not see race, religion, colour, caste, creed, language or border before striking. Our response and conduct thereafter should attach primacy to unity and brotherhood. We are in this together,” read an excerpt from an article penned by Modi on LinkedIn.

It is to be noted that the central government had earlier, too, hit out at the OIC, an international organisation comprising 57 Muslim nations as its member states, for making what India terms as irresponsible statements.

The organisation states that it is "the collective voice of the Muslim world" and works to "safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony".

It is presumed that the OIC's remarks had come in reference to the recent controversy in India around the Tablighi Jamaat congregation at Nizamuddin Markaz in Delhi, which reportedly had a major part to play in the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) across the length and breadth of India.