New Delhi: After receiving flak from many quarters, Delhi Minorities Commission chairman Dr Zafarul Islam Khan on Wednesday issued a statement saying that he has never tried to tarnish the image of India and accused some media organisations of distorting his views.

Issuing a statement on his Facebook account, Dr Khan said that he was a patriot and never tried to hamper India’s image at any forum. He said like any other Indian Muslim, he firmly believed in the Indian Constitution and the rule of law.

Here’s Delhi Minorities Commission chairman’s statement on Facebook:

“Yesterday, 28 April 2020, I issued a tweet on my twitter handle. Nothing more should be added to this tweet as done by many media establishments. This tweet is in the background of how the issues of Muslims have been dealt with in our country. Be it lynching, riots, media bashing or redressal of their problems in political and administrative processes.”

“I have not complained against my country to any foreign government or organization nor I intend to do so in future. I am a patriot to the core and I have always defended my country abroad. However, at the same time I have always been vocal about the problems in our country like any other country but we and our political, constitutional and judicial system are capable to tackle them.”

“I have always defended my country in Arabic media and on channels like Al Jazeera where my defence of India during the Kargil War is still remembered by many in the Arab world. When Kuwait’s Al-Mujtama magazine asked me years ago to write about Indian Muslims’ viewpoint about Kashmir, the editor was shocked to see may article as it defended the Indian position and said that the Indian Muslims do not support secession of Kashmir from India. That article was published along with a rejoinder by a person in Pakistan and that was the last time I wrote for that magazine.”

"According to my knowledge, Indian Muslims have never complained against their country to outside powers. I, like other Indian Muslims, believe in rule of law, the Indian Constitution and the fine institutions our country has.”

“I must make it clear that I am not and never was a member of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Commission I head is a statutory and independent body governed by the Delhi Minorities Commission Act 1999. AAP or its government in Delhi do not run the Commission and are not accountable for what the Commission does.”

“I take this opportunity to bring to the notice of the media here that yesterday itself, United States Commission on International Religious Freedom said in its report that religious freedoms in India deteriorated sharply last year as the government allowed “campaigns of harassment and violence” against Muslims and other religious minorities to continue.”

“My views have been distorted on a few electronic media forums and many false statements/opinions have been attributed to me. I will take appropriate legal steps available to me against them.”

The Delhi Minorities Commission chairman's statement comes after Zafarul Islam in his Facebook post had said, "Thank you Kuwait for standing with the Indian Muslims! The Hindutva bigots calculated that given the huge economic stakes involved the Muslim and Arab world will not care about the persecution of Muslims in India.

"The bigots forgot that Indian Muslims enjoy huge goodwill in the eyes of the Arab and Muslim world for their services over centuries to Islamic causes, excellence in Islamic and Arabic scholarship, cultural and civilisational gifts to world heritage... Mind you, bigots, Indian Muslims have opted until now not to complain to the Arab and Muslim world about your hate campaigns and lynching and riots. The day they are pushed to do that, bigots will face an avalanche," he had written in his Facebook post.

Earlier today, National Commission of Minorities chairman Ghayorul Hasan Rizvi had slammed Khan for his statements. While hitting out at Delhi Minorities Commission chairman, Rizvi asserted that Muslims in India are happy and there's no Islamophobia in the country.