Muslims needn't have any allergy towards BJP, it works for development of all: Naqvi

New Delhi: Former Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Friday called on the Muslims to back the BJP and asserted that when the ruling party does not discriminate against any section in terms of development then why should there be any stinginess in supporting it.

Speaking at a BJP's 'Sakriya Sadasyata Abhiyan' event in Uttar Pradesh's Rampur, the senior party leader said the Modi-Yogi governments' priority is not the security and protection of rioters and strongmen but securing the harmony of the society.

Ensuring a society free from riots and hooligans is the constitutional responsibility of any government, the former minority affairs minister said.

"We will have to crush the selfish political custom of clemency for criminals. We need to punish perpetrators," he was quoted as saying in a statement from his office.

Naqvi said that the backward and downtrodden sections of the society had been the biggest victims of scourge of riots under earlier governments.

Minorities, especially the Muslims, should not allow any "allergy" towards the BJP to settle in, he said.

"We have to work very hard to convert this distrust into trust. We must proudly assert that when the BJP doesn't discriminate against any section in terms of development then there should also not be any stinginess in support for the BJP," he said.