'This was a different Amit Shah': Muslim leaders after meeting Home Minister over communal violence

A delegation of Muslim leaders met with Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday night and were pleasantly surprised by the BJP leader's behaviour as he patiently listened to their grievances regarding recent incidents of communal violence after Ram Navami and hate speeches.

"This was a different Amit Shah from the one we see delivering political speeches. He responded positively, he heard us in detail, he was not in a denial mode," Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind secretary Niyaz Faruqui told NDTV.

The delegation was led by Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind president Maulana Mahmood Madani, Faruqui and All India Muslim Personal Law Board members Kamal Faruqui and Professor Akhtarul Wasey.

The religious leaders also talked about the madrasa that was set on fire in Bihar’s Nalanda.

Discussions on the murders of Junaid and Nasir, both citizens of Rajasthan’s Bharatpur, were also held.

On February 15, both Junaid and Nasir were reportedly abducted by cow vigilantes. The next morning, their remains were discovered inside a burned-out automobile in Haryana’s Bhiwani.

The Muslim leaders also highlighted the hate remarks made by several BJP leaders.

“He told us there are all kinds of people, so it is not right to see everyone through the same prism. The government, he said, was not involved. We told him that silence on your part leads to despair among Muslims. He said he would look into it,” Faruqui said.

“We did not target any leader, that was not our goal. Our goal was to create cooperation and change the atmosphere in the country,” he further told NDTV.