New Delhi, Jun 3 (HT): Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured a delegation of Mulsim leaders that he doesn’t believe in politics that divide people on communal lines, reportedly saying he would be available to address their issues even at midnight.
Modi discussed social, economic and educational issues related to Muslims with the 30-member delegation led by Umer Ahmed Ilyasi, chief of the All India Imam Organisation, that called on him on the occasion of Shab-e-Baraat on Tuesday.
During the 45-minute meeting, Modi said he “neither believes in politics which seeks to divide people on communal lines, nor will he ever speak communal language”, according to a statement issued by his office.
He said the “politics of majority and minority had caused a lot of damage” to the country. Employment and development are the solution to all problems, and Modi said he is focused on delivering them.
Ilyasi told The Indian Express that the Prime Minister assured the delegation he would be available to listen to their problems even at midnight.
“He told me, ‘I give you my word, if you knock on my door at 12 in the night, I will respond.’ He assured us that he is responsible for every Indian,” Ilyasi said.
The imam said the delegation highlighted the concerns of Muslims across India. “We told the PM that while he speaks mann ki baat, we have come to tell him our dil ki baat, our concerns about how, when he was talking Make in India in Germany, some people here were talking to destroy India.”
The Muslim leaders said they wanted to “forge a partnership for progress and development with the Prime Minister”, according to the official statement. They said Muslims had “rejected the divisive politics of vote-banks” and were interested in development.
Modi spoke of his government’s initiatives in skill development and the work done by him as chief minister of Gujarat in education of the girl child and reviving the kite industry.
He appreciated the gesture of the Muslim leaders to take time out to meet him on the festive occasion of Shab-e-Baraat.
The delegation lauded the Prime Minister for “his vision of Muslim youth with a Quran in one hand and a computer in the other”, the official statement said. They also congratulated him for India’s success in the adoption of the International Yoga Day by the United Nations.
Feroze Bakht Ahmad, a teacher and grandnephew of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad who was part of the delegation, said: “It was not like the PM sat on a chair and talked to people. He met each one personally. He talked about how he considers himself a PM of every Indian, not of Muslims, Sikhs, Christians or Parsis.
“He said he would not let anybody play the Hindu or the Muslim card, but would play the India card himself…He said education is the only way to reduce communal conflagrations and he is working towards that. Every member came away with the impression that he is a strong PM who means business.”
Minister of state for minority affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval were present at the meeting.
Parvez Ahmed, the son of late President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, representatives of the Quami Majlis-e-Shoora, Islamic Council of India and Ajmer Dargaah Sharif and imams from Bengaluru, Gujarat, Jaipur, Meerut and Patna were part of the Muslim delegation.