Congress leader Pawan Kheda has slammed Union Home Minister Amit Shah's remarks regarding the Muslim population in India.
He called it an attempt to "incite Hindu-Muslim tensions" and polarize voters ahead of the upcoming elections in Bihar.
Kherda also questioned why the Home Minister did not raise this issue during his 11 years in office.
In a post on the social media platform X on Saturday, Pawan Kheda said, "He pointed to the increase in the Muslim population in X to indicate widespread 'Muslim infiltration' in India."
He said, "In this situation, a logical question is: if the Muslim population, as he claimed, has increased due to 'infiltration,' then what exactly has the Home Minister been doing for the past 11 years?"
Weapon of Mass Disinformation: Ramesh
Congress MP and party's General Secretary in-charge Communications Jairam Ramesh called Amit Shah an "indigenously developed Weapon of Mass Disinformation (WMD) and Weapon of Intimidatory Mass Polarisation (WIMP)" over his remark on the Muslim population.
Muslim population has grown at a rate of 24.6 percent: Shah
At an event on October 10, Amit Shah said that the difference in population growth across religions in the censuses conducted from 1951 to 2011 is primarily due to infiltration.
He said that the Muslim population has grown at a rate of 24.6 percent, while the Hindu population has declined by 4.5 percent.
Referring to Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, the Amit Shah said that “the decline in the Hindu population in these countries was not due to conversion; many of them have sought refuge in India”.
“On the other hand, the increase in the Muslim population in India is not due to the fertility rate but rather due to the large-scale infiltration of Muslim individuals into the country,” he said.
The Home Minister said the disparity in population growth across all religions observed in the census from 1951 to 2011 is primarily due to infiltration. He said his party has “adopted the three principles of Detect, Delete, and Deport” since 1951.
“The government will identify infiltrators, make every effort to ensure their names are removed from the voter list, and subsequently work to deport them to their countries. The right to vote should only be granted to citizens of this country,” he said.