NEW DELHI: Arab Twitterati lambasted ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)leader Subramanian Swamy for calling Kuwait government ‘Namak Haram’ (Ungrateful).
Known for diatribe
The former union minister, who is known for his diatribe against the Muslim community, in his tweet had labelled Kuwait as “Namak Haram.”
Swamy’s attack on the oil-rich gulf state came over Kuwait’s recent expat quota Bill that limits the number of Indians to 15 per cent of the population.
“Kuwait Govt’s Namak Haram. In 1991 in dealing with Kuwait’s plight following the Sadaam Hussein invasion and annexation to Iraq, at the request of the US, I negotiated on behalf of Chandrashekhar govt to permit the US Air Force to refuel in India to help Kuwait,” tweeted the Rajya Sabha MP.
Drew sharp flak
His tweet drew sharp flak from the Arab twitterati.
Mejbel Al Sharika, a well-known Kuwaiti social activist and Director of the Center for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law, who has been speaking out against Hindutva groups on Twitter blasted at Swamy for denigrating the emirate.
“While receiving Billions of Dollars in remittance and a very brotherly treatment to Indians for decades the current Hindutva rulers chose to abuse us in return. First their MP @Tejasvi_Surya abused our women publicly,now another MP @Swamy39. Calls us “Namak Haram”, We’ll respond,” tweeted Al-Sharika.
Islamophobia
Earlier, Kanpur Medical College Principal Dr. Aarati Lalchandani reportedly made discriminatory remarks against Muslims by referring to Tablighi Jamaat members as “terrorists”.
There is a growing list of expats who continue to write anti-Muslim, anti-Islamic comments on the social networking sites, leading some top Emirati figures, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, intellectuals and activists to issue a warning.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a spike in Islamophobia as lawmakers and governmental officials call for reducing the number of foreigners in Kuwait, the Gulf News report said.
Kuwait’s expat quota bill
The latest Bill has been deemed constitutional by Kuwait’s National Assembly’s legal and legislative committee. According to the Bill, Indians should not exceed 15 per cent of the population,
The Indian community is the largest totalling 1.45 million. Due to this, 800,000 Indians might have to leave Kuwait.
The current population of Kuwait is 4.3 million, with Kuwaitis making up 1.3 million of the population, and expats accounting for 3 million.