Muslims don't vote for BJP: RS Prasad

New Delhi: Union Minister for information technology Ravi Shankar Prasad on Friday landed his party in a spot of embarrassment by asserting that Muslims do not vote for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), but still the government has given them 'proper sanctity'. While addressing at the Mindmine Summit, Prasad asked, "We have got thirteen Chief Ministers of our own. Have we witnessed any Muslim gentleman working in the industry or service? We don't get Muslim votes. I acknowledged very clearly, but have we given them proper sanctity or not?" ALSO READ: I, not Advani, incited mob to raze Babri Mosque: Ex-BJP MP Ram Vilas Vedanti The comments assume significance as a lot has been said about Muslim support for the BJP in various states and especially Uttar Pradesh given the scale of its recent victory. BJP has also been accused by Opposition of ignoring the Muslim community in electoral politics. BJP, on the other hand, alleges that rival parties instill fear among the masses to keep it away from power. Prasad’s comments come at time when the BJP is expecting to garner as much support from Muslim women on the contentious issue of triple talaq. Last month, Prasad said Muslim women voted for the BJP during the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections because the party raised the issue of triple talaq. PM Modi has been asserting that Triple Talaq was a menace crippling the lives of Muslim women in India. He urged the party leaders to attack the issue on a grass-root level. "Our Muslim sisters deserve justice. We should try to solve this issue at the district level. We should also proceed on the formula of a new India. We can't simply move forward on a slow pace, but charge ahead with full speed," the Prime Minister said during the BJP National Executive Meeting here. Union Minister an firebrand BJP leader Giriraj Singh also backed Prasad's comments.  (WATCH BELOW)

Meanwhile, trying to clarify what he said on Friday, Prasad in a series of tweets today said that "We don't measure the development of Indian citizens on the yardsticks of vote bank."