A discussion about whether the same thing may happen in India started after Rishi Sunak was elected prime minister of the United Kingdom. Vivek Agnihotri, a filmmaker, responded to the BJP’s claim that India has had presidents and prime ministers who are members of the minority.
In the controversy that followed Rishi Sunak’s election as prime minister of the United Kingdom, controversial director Vivek Agnihotri stated that India would be ready for a Muslim prime minister the day all Muslims in the country would shout Bharat Mata ki Jai and Vande Mataram. The tweet from Vivek Agnihotri was in response to one from a journalist.
“The day when all Indian Muslims will forbid the use of the word “Kafir,” speak out vehemently against Islamic terrorism, acknowledge Kashmir as an essential component of India, identify as Bhartiya before anything else, and say “Bharat Mata ki Jai” and “Vande Mataram” with the same vigour and dedication. You Prepared?” Director of Kashmir Files tweeted.
After numerous Congress politicians, notably Shashi Tharoor and P Chidambaram, questioned whether a member of the minority can become prime minister in India, a verbal battle between the BJP and the opposition ensued. The BJP used Manmohan Singh as an example, noting that India has had one Sikh prime minister and three Muslim presidents. The BJP said that there can be no comparison between Sonia Gandhi, who “refused to obtain Indian citizenship for several decades after marriage with Rajiv,” and Rishi Sunak, an Indian-born British citizen.
Mehbooba Mufti, a former chief minister of J&K, commented on Sunak’s ascent to power by saying that whereas the UK welcomed an ethnic minority member as its prime minister, India is still constrained by NRC and CAA.
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, reacting to Rishi Sunak becoming the UK PM, reiterated his wish of seeing a hijab-clad Indian PM in his lifetime — a wish he had expressed earlier during the hijab row.
