Coming out in support of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's'Virus' comment against the Indian Union Muslim League, BJP Minority Morcha national president Abdul Rasheed Ansari Monday said "things which are not good for the nation can be called a virus".
Adityanath had tweeted that the IUML is a virus and the Congress was affected by it.
"Muslim League is a virus. If someone is affected by this virus, he cannot survive and today the main Opposition party Congress is affected by it.
Think, if they win what will happen? This virus will spread in the entire nation," Adityanath had tweeted.
He had also brought in the 1857 movement for freedom and its hero Mangal Pandey.
"In 1857, the entire country fought against Britishers with Mangal Pandey, then this Muslim League virus came and spread in such a way that the country was divided," he said.
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"The same threat is looming over the country again. Green flags are once again furled. Congress is suffering from Muslim league virus,remain alert," another of his tweets had said.
Ansari, who was in Thiruvananthapuram to campaign for the saffron party, agreed with Adityanath's tweet.
"That's correct. Things which are not good for the health of the nation or good for society can be called a virus, that is those whose actions and speeches are not good for harmonious relations in society," Ansari said.
Asked about the alleged lack of tolerance in the country, Ansari said it was just a "political narrative".
"I think intolerance is simply a political narrative. I belong to a minority community.
Minority communities in the country include my Sikh brothers, Parsi brothers, Christian brothers and many others.
What do we require? Freedom to practice, freedom of movement, harmonious environment to live in, an environment to work... We get everything in this country," Ansari told reporters here.
He also said there were no cases of admissions being denied to Muslims or Christians in educational institutions or roads not being constructed in minority areas.
"Even in the recent UPSC exams, many Christians and Muslim candidates emerged victorious. If there was marginalisation, how could they have been selected?,"he asked.
Asked about lynching incidents and the protests by right wing groups against certain films like the Deepika Padukone starrer "Padmavat",he said those instances were not political.
"Such instances were not political. They are just social. Moreover, you see the intention of the government. At any point, were the government or its officials party to any such incidents?," he asked.
When it was pointed out that union minister Jayanth Sinha had garlanded some accused who got bail in a lynching case,he said it's the head of the government or the party that matters.
"Has PM Modi not condemned the incidents? Has he not asked his colleagues in the government to take strong action so that such things were not repeated?," he said.
Ansari also lashed out at the Congress and CPI(M) in Kerala and said successive governments led by both fronts had over the years ignored their manifestos and promises made to the people of the state.
He said Keralites were not employers due to lack of development in the state.
Ansari also flayed the decision of the Congress chief to contest in Wayanad.
"He (Rahul Gandhi) and his family were engaged in the Amethi seat and other places in Uttar Pradesh. Now the national president of the oldest national party has to come to Kerala to find shelter....They find competition there. Because they have not developed the area," Ansari said.
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