Nobody should be forced to chant \'Jai Shri Ram\': Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi

Mumbai: Union Minister of Minority Affairs, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi recently assured that there are sufficient laws to deal with crimes like lynching.

He said that nobody should be forced to chant 'Jai Shri Ram,' NDTV reported.

The comment came in light with the recent lynching case of the 24-year-old, Tabrez Ansari, from Jharkhand.

Ansari, according to a report by the Jharkhand government died because of lapses by police and doctors.

Last month, he was tied to a pole and forced to chant "Jai Shri Ram" and "Jai Hanuman" by a mob.

The Minority Affairs Minister also said that there has not been one single incident in which the accused has not been caught.

"In two separate lynching cases the accused did not get bail for six months, in Rajasthan whereas in Uttar Pradesh, the accused was found in four hours. There has been instant action, whatever the incident has been."

He also said that nobody should force anyone to do anything. However, one can't refuse to sing Vande Mataram, he asserted.

He stated an example of secularism saying that in the villages of India, people are greeted by saying "Ram Ram" irrespective of their caste.

"The country is secular not because of its minorities, but it is in the DNA of majority community," he added.

He also said that the country is being taken on the path of progress and whoever tries to become a "speed breaker" in this path, inclusive thinking will stop such forces.