Former chief election commissioner SY Quraishi on Monday responded to BJP MP Nishikant Dubey’s “Muslim commissioner” barb at him, saying that he believes in an idea of India where an individual is defined by his contributions, PTI reported.
Quraishi asserted that “for some, religious identities are a staple to forward their hateful politics”. The former CEC said that India has, is and will always stand up and fight for its constitutional institutions and principles.
“I served on the constitutional post of Election Commissioner to the best of my ability and had a long and fulfilling career in the IAS. I believe in an idea of India where an individual is defined by his or her talents and contributions and not by their religious identities,” Quraishi told PTI.
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“But I guess, for some, religious identities are a staple to forward their hateful politics. India has, is and will always stand up and fight for its constitutional institutions and principles,” he added.
Quraishi was the chief election commissioner of India from July 2010 to June 2012.
What Nishikant Dubey said
BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, on Sunday, had criticised Quraishi, calling him a “Muslim commissioner” rather than an election commissioner.
The BJP MPs statement came a day after he had sparked controversy with his remarks targeting the Chief Justice of India and the Supreme Court, along with his criticism of the Waqf (Amendment) Act—a legislation that Quraishi had previously condemned as a “sinister and evil plan by the government to seize Muslim lands.”
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Quraishi, who previously served as the CEC of India, had posted on X on April 17. “Wakf Act is undoubtedly a blatantly sinister evil plan of the govt to grab Muslim lands. I’m sure SC will call it out. Misinformation by the mischievous propaganda machine has done its job well.”
In response, Dubey accused Quraishi of communal bias during his tenure as chief election commissioner. The BJP MP said: “You were not an election commissioner, you were a Muslim commissioner. The maximum number of Bangladeshi infiltrators were made voters in Santhal Pargana in Jharkhand during your tenure.”
“Prophet Muhammad’s Islam came to India in 712. This land (Waqf) before that belonged to Hindus or tribals, Jains or Buddhists associated with that faith,” he added.
