Govt has created atmosphere of trust, development: Naqvi

MoS for Parliamentary Affairs and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Tuesday said the Narendra Modi-led government has created a “strong atmosphere of development and trust” for minority communities in the country in the past two years. 

Reiterating the government's commitment to ensure peace and harmony in the country, he said incidents of riots and communal violence had dropped by 82 per cent in the past two years. 

Naqvi said: “The previous government only followed the appeasement policy. They misled minorities only for vote-bank policies. That’s why in states like Kerala and West Bengal, we have managed 

public acceptance and in Assam we are forming the government.”

Naqvi said the budget for the Minority Affairs Ministry was increased by Rs 87 crore to Rs 3,800 crore for 2016-17. He added that other ministries, too, have worked a lot for the welfare of minorities under the PM’s 15-point programme.” 

Talking about the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), Naqvi said it is a central institute, and hence, it can’t be given a minority status. “The matter is sub-judice, but still you cannot call universities like Jamia Millia Islamia and AMU as institutes for minority communities,” the minister said.