Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a dig at Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, who recently enlisted thousands of sadhus as part of his Lok Sabha campaign, saying that he was also capable of roping in Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, in an interview with Times Now.
“Digvijaya Singh can rope in Zakir Naik as well. He can do anything. Of course, if he arrives here, we will arrest him, otherwise he is capable bring him (Naik) here.” he said.
PM Modi was referring to the recent controversy when a video came to light in which the Congress leader was revealed to have shared the stage with Zakir Naik and thanked him for his “message of peace.”
Singh, who is contesting from the Bhopal Lok Sabha constituency in Madhya Pradesh against BJP’s Pragya Thakur, said that he did not violate any law.
Naik, a Mumbai University Graduate, is a tele-evangelist who helms a channel, contentiously titled ‘Peace TV’, through which he reaches nearly 200 million viewers throughout the world. Naik, in his speeches, has defended fundamentalist militancy and slavery, among other things. He is currently believed to be residing in Malaysia, evading the Enforcement Directorate which has charged him with money laundering.
Most recently, one of the perpetrators of the 2016 terrorist attack on a Dhaka cafe, in which 22 people were killed, was reportedly inspired by Naik’s preaching about Islam.
Addressing an election rally at Itarsi in Madhya Pradesh last week, the Prime Minister said, "Zakir Naik's words have caused blasts in Sri Lanka, leaving 300 people dead. His TV channel was banned two or three days ago,” referring to the Easter terror attacks on Sri Lankan Churches and Hotels.
He accused the Congress of protecting Naik as a peace ambassador.
(With inputs from Times Now.)
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