‘Intention Is to Have a Saffronised Pakistan’: Former Top Cop on Minority Rights Under BJP in India

New Delhi: Former Mumbai police commissioner Julio Ribeiro's recent statement expressing concerns about the condition of minorities in India, made during a book launch event in Goa, have sparked controversy, with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accusing the retired IPS officer of displaying "deep political bias."

The BJP's state unit released a statement on Wednesday expressing "profound disappointment and concern" over Ribeiro's remarks. At the event in question on Tuesday, Ribeiro said, "Hindus and Christians in Pakistan are living in fear as second-class citizens… that may happen here [in India]. This is what I fear," the Indian Express reported.

Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent interaction with members of the Christian community in Delhi on Christmas, Ribeiro suggested that Modi was "trying to woo a big Christian community in Kerala." He added, "One of the bishops has fallen for it. I feel because one has fallen, others perhaps may also fall. Let’s see what he (Modi) is trying to do. Even among our friends, they have started understanding that many of the things he said were only for votes. It is hoped that his Christmas message is probably a change of heart. If it is, it will be a good thing. But I doubt it, since the whole intention is to have a saffronised Pakistan."

In response, Giriraj Pai Vernekar, the spokesperson for the Goa BJP, criticised Ribeiro's comparisons between India and Pakistan, describing them as "unfounded" and "deeply offensive to the ethos and achievements of our great nation." Vernekar accused Ribeiro of harbouring "deep hatred and frustration at having a government in power that possibly does not conform to his ideology." He added, "But, to demean the country in an attempt to belittle the government is unbecoming of a former cop."

Ribeiro was the Commissioner of Mumbai Police from 1982 to 1986 and later held the post of Director General of Central Reserve Police Force and then Director General Police of Gujarat. He also served as Indian Ambassador to Romania from 1989 until 1993.