All minorities should follow Parsis: Amit Shah

Mumbai: Union home minister Amit Shah on Sunday said Parsis have made silent but immense contribution to India’s development, and all minorities should follow the community, which “without struggling for rights, lived their lives focussing on their duties”.

“I want to say to those who fight for the rights of minorities that if there is any true minority among minorities, then it is the Parsi community. Without ever struggling for rights, they have lived their lives focussing on their duties. They melted in our country like sugar in milk. All minorities in the world should follow the Parsis,” he said. Without ever making any demand, they have contributed to every field, he added.

Shah was speaking at an event to mark 200 years of Gujarati newspaper Mumbai Samachar when he made the remarks.

Parsis did their duty in fields like governance, industry, information technology, fintech, atomic science as well as winning the war that gave birth to Bangladesh (an apparent reference to Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw), Shah said.

The Union minister said his prayer was that all communities are like the Parsis, which without making demands went about contributing in a stellar way in various sectors that will never be forgotten by the country.

Amit Shah reached Mumbai on Sunday for a two-day visit. He is scheduled to visit Lalbaugcha Raja and other Ganesh mandals on Monday.

Shah also reviewed the preparation of Mahayuti for the upcoming assembly polls. Late in the evening, he held meetings with senior BJP leaders like deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, state BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Mumbai BJP president Ashish Shelar and others. Shah also held a meeting with alliance partner, chief minister Eknath Shinde and leaders of NCP.

Meanwhile Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut slammed BJP over Shah’s Mumbai visit. “Shah’s Mumbai tour is for looting the state and city. Like industries in Maharashtra were shifted to Gujrat, one day he will take Lalbaugcha Raja to Gujarat,” fumed Raut.