Do not create fear among minorities, Naqvi tells 'political secularists'

Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Monday said that "political secularists" should desist from creating an atmosphere of fear among the minorities in the country.

"The political secularists should desist from creating an atmosphere of fear among the minorities and misguiding them for furthering their political interests," Naqvi said while speaking after inaugurating the Central Wakf Bhavan here.

Naqvi, minister of state for minority affairs, also said that there had been no honest efforts for the socio-economic and educational development of the minority communities in India for decades.

"There is competition among the so-called secularists to exploit these communities politically. Due to such approach, development of minorities, especially the Muslims, has remained only on paper," Naqvi was quoted in a statement shared through his official Twitter account.

The minister said the Modi government was trying to enable the minorities to get an equal share through participation in the country's development.

"The NDA government has established a mechanism where each and every single penny of the grant given by the centre, meant for the welfare of the minorities, is being spent honestly and with transparency," Naqvi said.

"The minority communities, especially Muslims, should assess the central government on the basis of its work and not from the eyes of those people who are responsible for political exploitation of the Muslim community," he said.

Naqvi also urged the Central Wakf Council to make honest efforts for the development of Wakf properties.

The union minister said there was a need for a war-like campaign to free the Wakf properties from the clutches of 'Wakf mafias'.

"This will ensure that these properties are used for the overall development of the Muslim community," he said.