Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut had made a statement that said the voting rights of the Muslims should be revoked. However, he then denied the statement the next day saying he was ‘misinterpreted’.
“I have not written that the voting rights of Muslims should be taken away. I only said that Muslims will not be used for political opportunism if they are not allowed to vote. It is wrong and unconstitutional to take away the voting rights of Muslims,” Raut told reporters in Aurangabad on Tuesday.
“I did not say Muslims should be deprived of their voting rights. The media wanted some news for the day and they misrepresented my statement,” he added.
He caused a big stir by writing the statement in the Sunday edition of ‘Saamana’ wherein he had demanded that the Muslims should not be allowed to vote and that minority votes should be brought to an end.
“Vote bank politics is being played in the name of fighting the injustice meted out to Muslims. Their educational and health status is being used politically. This politics was once played by Congress but now by every other person calls himself secular. If Muslims are only being used this way to play politics, then they can never develop. Muslims will have no future as long as they are used to play vote bank politics and thus Balasaheb (Sena founder Balasaheb Thakre) had once suggested withdrawal Muslims’ voting rights. What he said is right,” Raut said.
Many political parties and leaders strongly opposed his views and said that a formal complaint should be lodged again him. Lawyer and civil rights activist Shehzad Poonawala also filed a complaint with the National Minorities Commission.
The BJP also shared its view, saying that Raut’s comments are ‘unacceptable’. They said that he went against the constitution as any discrimination on the basis of religion is intolerable.
Tags: muslims Sanjay Raut Shiv Sena
