Kuala Lumpur: Islamic preacher Dr Zakir Naik has made a stunning claim alleging that the Indian government offered to scrap the cases against him in exchange for his support on Kashmir. However, he said he rejected the deal in which the government offered him a safe passage back home in return for his allegiance to the government’s stance on the erstwhile north Indian state.
According to Times Now, in a video address, Dr Naik claimed that the government officials who approached him on behalf of PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah told him that India wanted to use his connection to improve relations with Muslim countries.
At first, he told them that he is ready to do anything which is not against Quran or Sunnah, but when he was asked to support government’s move of scrapping article 370 in Kashmir, he flatly refused to do so as he felt it was unconstitutional.
He believed that Muslim leaders in India who are supporting CAA and NRC might also have either threatened or blackmailed for doing so.
Naik is wanted by the investigative agencies in India and features in the list of the most-wanted fugitives.
In the video address Dr Zakir Naid said: “A few months ago, the Indian officials approached me for a private meeting with a representative of the Indian government. When he came to Putraya in the fourth week of September 2019, he told me I am coming straight after meeting Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah”.
He added: “He told me that he came to meet me under the direct instruction of PM Modi and Amit Shah in order to work out a way for my safe passage to India as they wanted to use my connections to improve relations with the Muslim countries.”
Saying that the offer left him bewildered Dr Naik exclaimed how was this possible from the same Prime Minister who used his name 9 times within two minutes in a speech during elections?
He revealed that in the meeting he was asked to support the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government’s decision to abrogate provisions of Article 370, which he said he refused.