India will be a weaker country if Muslims are seen with suspicion and as outsiders, said former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Farooq Abdullah on Sunday.
Speaking after inaugurating the JD(S) State-level convention of minorities at the Government Junior College grounds in Tumakuru, Mr. Abdullah took to task forces which treat Muslims as “outsiders”.
He said Muslims too had laid down their lives for the freedom of the country. He said Muslims need not even try to “show” that they are Indian Muslims, which is an insult to them.
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He said Muslims were being treated as “inferior to animals” and being burnt to death in the name of cow protection.
On Kashmir issue
Mr. Abdullah said the Kashmir issue can be solved only if talks are taken up with Pakistan. “The issue will not be resolved until talks take place between India and Pakistan,” he said. He reiterated that autonomous status for Jammu and Kashmir was the only way ahead, and it would not weaken the nation but strengthen it.
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JD(S) Supremo H.D. Deve Gowda said Kashmir is a major issue, and unless it is solved, there will be no peace in the country. He called upon people to “save the secular and regional party by rejecting the BJP and opportunistic Congress.”
Mr. Gowda said the State government had failed to protect Muslims in the State. He said that the Law Minister had performed puja at Dattapeeta and sought to know the message the government was sending to people through such moves.
JD(S) State president H.D. Kumaraswamy urged Mr. Abdullah to take the lead in bringing secular leaders of the nation under one umbrella, which the JD(S) would support.