Jaspur: Rubbishing opposition’s charge that the Modi government is interfering in Shariat matters, Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi today welcomed the ongoing debate on triple talaq and Uniform Civil Code, saying the discussion is a sign of healthy democracy.
“The Modi government has not been interfering in religious or Shariat matters. Some people are spreading this misconception for their narrow political gains. They are trying to divert the attention from the government’s agenda of development for all, including minorities,” he said.
Noting that there is nothing wrong with the ongoing debate, the Union MoS for Minority Affairs said, “There should be a positive discussion on triple talaq and Uniform Civil Code. Debate and discussion are the important part of any democracy. National consensus should be achieved through national debate.”
Addressing a “Progress Panchayat” at Jagatpur Patti village near Jaspur in Uttarakhand’s Udham Singh Nagar district, he claimed many political parties are accusing the Narendra Modi government of interfering in religious and Shariat matters as part of a “negative propaganda” against the Centre.
“Development agenda alone can defeat people and parties with such negative agendas,” the Union Minister said and claimed that “masters of corruption” are unable to digest a “corruption-free, development-oriented governance” provided by the Prime Minister.
Modi had succeeded in providing clean, honest and transparent governance which has resulted in the socio-economic empowerment of the poor, weaker sections and the minorities at the ground level, Naqvi claimed.
He said ‘Progress Panchayat’ has nothing to do with votes, but it is a “draft of development”.
The Union minister said the objective of ‘Progress Panchayat’, launched on September 29 from Mewat in Haryana, is to ensure that the benefits of Centre’s schemes reach the targeted beneficiaries and get a feedback on the hurdles in implementation of the schemes at the ground level.
Observing that preparing policies and schemes on paper is not enough, Naqvi said, “We have to make sure that these schemes, aimed at the welfare of the needy, are producing results on the ground.”
“The ministry should go to people, listen to their problems and resolve those. Then only we will be able to provide the fruits of development to the last person of the society,” he said.
Naqvi also said the minority affairs ministry has been working on different strategies for the welfare of Muslim community.
These include protection and development of waqf properties, free those from the clutches of ‘waqf mafias’ and establishing a one-man Board of Adjudication at Central-level to deal with complaints regarding waqf properties, he said.
—PTI