Politics that divide people on communal lines not to be trusted: Modi

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted on Tuesday that he does not believe in politics, which seeks to divide people on communal lines and will never speak communal language as he met a delegation of Muslim leaders here.

He discussed social, economic and educational issues related to Muslims with the 30-member delegation, led by Imam Umer Ahmed Ilyasi, Chief Imam of All India Imam Organization.

During the interaction, Modi said the politics of majority and minority has caused a lot of damage to the country, a PMO statement said.

The Prime Minister said he "neither believes in politics which seeks to divide people on communal lines nor will he ever speak communal language," it said.

At the meeting where Minister of State for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi was also present, Modi said employment and development are the solution to all problems and he is focused on delivering them.

In this context, he spoke of the initiatives in skill development taken by the union government and the work done by him as Chief Minister of Gujarat in fields such as education of the girl child as also revival of the kite industry.

The delegation members said the Muslim community had rejected the divisive politics of vote-banks and was interested in development, the PMO statement said.

The members appreciated Modi's leadership over the last one year and said they wanted to forge a partnership for progress and development with the Prime Minister, it added.

The Muslim leaders "congratulated" Modi for his vision for the Muslim youth with a Quran in one hand and a computer in the other, the PMO statement said.

They also congratulated him for the country's success in the adoption of the International Day of Yoga by the United Nations, it added.

The delegation also included Dr. Khwaja Iftekhar Ahmed, President of Quami Majlis-e-Shoora, Qari Mohd. Mian Mazhari, Chairman of the Islamic Council of India, Moulana Mohd. Haroon Imam, Khateeb Jama Masjid, Race Course, Moulana Bilal Ahmed, Member, Shoora Tableeg-e-Jamaat Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya, Moulana Mohd. Yunus, Imam of Dargaah Sharif Ajmer and Moulana Usman Gani Qadri, President of Amin-e-Shariat, Gujarat.

Dr. Parvez Ahmed, son of late Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, former President of India, and Dr. Firoz Ahmed Bakht, grand nephew of Moulana Abul Kalam Azad, were also part of the delegation.

Moulna Nasirudeen, Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid Kaithal, Moulana Mohammad Ikram Imam, Khateeb Jama Masjid (Bangalore), Moulana Burhan Ahmed Qasmi, Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid (Jaipur), Moulana Ayub Ali, Imam of Masjid Shahjahan (Ajmer), Moulana Abdul Majeed, Shahi Imam-Khateeb Jama Masjid Cantt, Moulana Qari Abdul Lateef, Imam of Masjid Sarai Kale Khan, Moulana Mufti Zulfikar, President of Tanzeem-Aimma Masjid, Uttar Pradesh, Moulana Lukman Tarapuri, Imam of Jama Masjid, Anand (Gujarat), Moulana Aamir, Imam-Khateeb Jama Masjid, Meerut and Moulana Ashgar Ali, Shahi Imam of Patna were also in the delegation.

Dr. Aslam Parvez Ahmed, Principal of Zakir Hussain College, Prof. Qazi Obaid Ur Rehman of Jamia Milia Islamia, Prof. Abdul Haleem Khan, Chairman of Girls College, Indore and Moulana Mufti Afroz Alam Qasmi Qazi, Chairman of Markaji Milli Foundation were part of the delegation too.