After the controversial letter of Archbishop of Delhi Archdiocese Anil Joseph Couto, calling upon the churches to start a year-long prayer campaign ahead of the 2019 general elections, creating a furore, Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Thursday met a Christian delegation, attempting to dispel their fears. He told the delegation that minority rights were safer in India than in any part of the world. "We have to be cautious against those forces who want to disturb the atmosphere of trust and development due to their prejudiced mindset and vested interests," Naqvi told members from Diocese of Delhi under Church of North India during a meeting.
Noting that the Central government was committed to 'Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas' and 'Development with Dignity' without any discrimination, he also said the Modi government was committed to protect all constitutional institutions, democratic values and religious rights of all sections. "Secularism, social-communal harmony and tolerance" is in India's DNA and compared to the entire world, constitutional, social, cultural and religious rights of minorities are more safe and secure in India, the minister added.
The Archbishop, in a letter dated May 8, addressed to all churches in the capital, had referred to a "turbulent political atmosphere" threatening democracy and secularism. He urged all priests to "pray for the country" ahead of the 2019 parliamentary election. The letter doesn't root for any candidate or party. "It is our hallowed practice to pray for our country and its political leaders all the time but all the more so when we approach the general elections. As we look forward towards 2019 when we will have new government let us begin a prayer campaign for our country from May 13…" the letter said.
The attached prayer that all churches have been instructed to read out during mass, says: "May the ethos of true democracy envelop our elections with dignity and the flames of honest patriotism enkindle our political leaders. This is our cry, Heavenly Father, in these troubled times as we see the clouds eclipsing the light of truth, justice and freedom."
Naqvi told the delegation that Modi was working with commitment to "Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas" and also highlighted schemes initiated for the welfare of minorities. He said that the Government has broken every barrier including caste, religion, region and it is moving forward towards "inclusive growth" to ensure that not a single Indian is deprived of the light of development. He mentioned "Jan Dhan Yojana", "Skill India", "Start Up India", "Stand Up India", "Mudra Yojana", "Ujjwala Yojana" claiming that they have benefited a large number of poor, weaker sections, minorities and women. The Minister said that the work done for the socio-economic-educational empowerment of minorities in the last 48 months had not been done even in 48 years. Programmes such as "Garib Nawaz Kaushal Vikas Yojana", "Hunar Haat", "Nai Manzil", "Seekho aur Kamao", "Begum Hazrat Mahal Girls Scholarship", "Nai Udaan", "Naya Savera" etc have proved to be the milestone for the empowerment of minorities
