Maligning India cannot be ethos of any Indian, says Smriti Irani

Union Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Smriti Irani on Thursday said that she wants people sitting in Shaheen Bagh to understand that talking about breaking India cannot be the culture of any Indian.

"I want all those sitting in Shaheen Bagh to understand that talking about breaking India cannot be the ethos of any Indian. Maligning Hindustan cannot be ethos of any Hindustani," Irani said.

People have been protesting in Delhi's Shaheen Bagh area against the citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) which grants citizenship to Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Parsi, Buddhist, and Christian refugees from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh, who came to India on or before December 31, 2014.

Irani, who was addressing a public meeting during Ganga Yatra here, said "words damning Indian Army cannot come out of any Indian's mouth".

"If I can ask anything from Mother Ganga (Ganges River) today, then I wish better sense prevails among those who eat from this land and sing praise (of) others."

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath had flagged off the Yatra from Bijnor on January 27.