Fugitive Islamic preacher Zakir Naik | Photo Credit: ANI

Kuala Lumpur: The controversial Islamic preacher Dr Zakir Naik made a stunning claim that the Indian government offered to scrap the cases against him in exchange for his support on Kashmir. In a video address, Naik said he rejected the alleged deal in which he was offered a safe passage back home in return for his allegiance to the government’s stance on the erstwhile north Indian state.

He also claimed that the government officials who approached him on behalf of PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah told him that India wanted to use his connection to improve relations with Muslim countries.

Naik, who is wanted by the investigative agencies in India and features in the list of the most-wanted fugitives, claimed several other prominent Muslim leaders were either threatened or blackmailed into submission around the same time.

"A few months ago, the Indian officials approached me for a private meeting with a representative of the Indian government. When he came to Putraya in the fourth week of September 2019, he told me I am coming straight after meeting Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah".

"He told me that he came to meet me under the direct instruction of PM Modi and Amit Shah in order to work out a way for my safe passage to India as they wanted to use my connections to improve relations with the Muslim countries," he said in the video address.

Naik said the offer left him bewildered as it was too good to be true. "I was left wondering how is this possible from the same Prime Minister who used by name 9 times within two minutes in a speech during elections".

The televangelist said that in the meeting which lasted a few hours, he was asked to support the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government's decision to abrogate provisions of Article 370.