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Taking a strong stand against the call by its ally Shiv Sena for the scrapping of Muslims’ voting rights, the government today said such suggestions were not acceptable to it and that these “should not be discussed even hypothetically”.
Minorities, including Muslims, are as much the citizens of our country as anybody else and “there can’t be any differentiation on any ground,” Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said.
“The suggestion to deny such rights to anybody on any grounds is not acceptable to our government,” he said.
“Such suggestions or purported suggestions should not be discussed even hypothetically since the same is not acceptable and such suggestions are not allowed under the Constitution,” he added.
An editorial in the Sena mouthpiece Saamna has evoked sharp reactions from political parties, which accused the party of trying to stoke communal passions and divide the people.
As the statement draws fire, Naidu further said, “It is unfortunate that some political parties are used to vote bank politics, which only harms the sections they pretend to be protecting.” The minister said it was time that such politics was abandoned in the interest of the country.
“People, institutions and organisations functioning in our constitutional scheme of things should avoid making such controversial remarks as they will not help the cause of building an inclusive and resurgent India,” he added.
Reacting to the view expressed in the said editorial by Sena MP Sanjay Raut that Muslims should be disenfranchised as the community is often used for vote-bank politics, Naidu said, “We are committed to defending and upholding all the rights given to our citizens under the Constitution.”
Bharatiya Janata Party national secretary Shrikant Sharma said the demand is a personal statement made by Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut and BJP distances itself from the same. He said the country is run through the Constitution that provides equal rights to all.
“This country is run through Constitution and not by writing editorials or TV programmes. This may be his personal view and we do not subscribe to it. Any citizen who attains the age of 18 years has voting rights as per Constitution.
“Owaisi brothers are known for doing communal politics, but that does not mean that voting rights of the entire community be taken away,” he said.
Hitting out at Raut for demanding revocation of voting rights of Muslims, All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen president Asaduddin Owaisi said the ruling BJP cannot dissociate itself from his statement as he is a leader of Sena, its ally, and asked it to take action against him.
“He (Raut) has no right whatsoever to seek such a revocation of any Indian. He has no right whatsoever, leave aside Muslims,” Owaisi said, adding that no one has the right to usurp the power of voting from anyone.
“The real agenda of fascist Hindu forces is being exposed now. Their ideology is to promote hatred. Shiv Sena is not just an ally of BJP, but they are sharing power. Now does the ruling party share the same views?” the Hyderabad MP sought to know, while adding that they want the Hindutva agenda to be implemented with their brute majority and it is good that the people are seeing them.
Edit smells of killing people to cure disease, say Muslim bodies
Flaying the Shiv Sena leader’s remarks on voting rights of Muslims, two prominent Muslim bodies in Mumbai said that such statements will create differences between Hindus and Muslims and asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to clarify his stand on the issue.
Spokesman of Shia Personal Law Board Maulana Yasoob Abbas said that it was right that political parties were using Muslims as vote bank, but revoking voting rights was not a solution. “The edit written by Sanjay Raut smells of killing people to cure the disease,” Abbas said.
He alleged that there were ill-intentions behind such a statement and as Sena was an ally of BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government, the PM should clear his stand.
“Such statements divide the country. The Constitution has given right to vote as the citizen of the country and talking about revoking the right will be injustice. It will create differences between Hindu and Muslim. It is unfortunate that ally of the PM is making such statements,” Abbas said.
Member of All India Muslim Personal Law Board Maulana, an apex Muslim body, Farangi Mahali Maulana Abdul Rasheed said the Constitution has given right to all Indians to vote and it could not be revoked from the Muslims.