New Delhi

Expressing his candid thoughts on Indian Muslims, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked the community to introspect their stance on various issues including opposing him and the BJP for the sake of their children’s future.

"For the first time, I am telling the Muslim community to introspect..If you keep thinking that you will decide who will be in power and who will be dethroned, you will spoil the future of your children," he said in an interview with the Times Now television channel.

He said he and all Indians get much respect in Gulf countries and “here (at home) I am being opposed.” He said Muslims all over the world are evolving.

“In Saudi Arabia, they have included Yoga as part of their curriculum. During luncheons when I am visiting these countries the rich and bigwigs of the country ask me about Yoga. Someone says my wife goes to India for a month to learn Yoga, others ask me what the formal way of learning Yoga is.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaking with Times Now Editors

He said it is unfortunate that in India, even Yoga has been called an anti-Muslim.

He was replying to a question about why Muslims have been buying the narrative that if Modi comes into power, it will be bad for Muslims for 22 years.

Modi said, “It’s for the first time, I am telling Muslims, the educated ones to do self-introspection. Gujarat has had a long history of communal riots since the 19th century. And it’s all documented. There has not been a single riot since 2002. Today, in Gujarat Muslims want to vote for BJP.”

"Country is progressing. If your community is feeling deprived, Think what's the reason for it?"

He said they must think of why the benefits of the government schemes in the Congress regimes did not percolate to Muslim societies. “You must think why during the Congress regimes you suffered.”

I don’t want any community to become bonded labour (of the narrative); they are being threatened,’ he said about the Muslim leaders are speaking against Modi and BJP during the campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections and also otherwise. 

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He says Muslims must interact with the BJP and study its functioning and ideology rather than oppose it blindly. “Come and sit in the party meetings. Who is stopping you? You came and take control of the BJP headquarters.”