Union Minister of State for Railways Suresh Angadi on Sunday asked what was wrong in “creating a Hindu Rashtra”. He was responding to JD(S) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy’s remarks that the BJP was trying to create a Hindu Rashtra by introducing the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the National Register of Citizens.
“Do other religions have a country for themselves or not? Why should we not have one for ourselves?” he asked.
But after a few minutes, he said the BJP was not creating a Hindu Rashtra. “We are not doing that. The term Hindu includes Muslims and Christians in India. It is not restricted to any community or religion. If you look at the documents of the time of my grandfather, you will see that different religious groups are listed as Hindu Muslim and Hindu Christians. That is how it is,” he said.
He denied allegations that he had made a provocative statement about how those protesting against CAA should be shot at. “I did not provoke anyone. My comment was about protecting public property. I have spoken against vandals destroying government places and assets like Railways property. I only appealed to State governments to take action against violent protesters. It was leaders like U.T. Khader who have made provocative statements,” he said.
