The Union minister of textiles, Giriraj Singh, continues to stoke the communal fire.

On Wednesday, while talking to the media, Singh reportedly said that had all Muslims been sent to Pakistan in 1947 the situation in the country would have been different.

“It is the misfortune of this country. Had some of our ancestors in 1947 sent all Muslims to Pakistan when the country was partitioned on religious lines, then nobody could have raised such questions,” said Singh. “Those who indulge in vote bank politics are making a cultural attack on the Sanatan.”

Singh, who has risen rapidly through the ranks in the first two terms of the Narendra Modi government, is known for shooting from the lip with anti-Muslim rhetoric.

The RSS mouthpiece ‘Panchjanya’ posted some quotes attributed to Singh, who has been elected thrice to Parliament, once from Nawada and twice from Begusarai.

“The biggest mistake was to let Muslims live here. If the country was partitioned on religious lines, why were Muslims allowed to remain here? Had they not been allowed to live here this situation would not have been created,” the mouthpiece quoted Singh, without clarifying what situation he was referring to.

The Union minister’s comment came on the same day that the leader of Opposition in the Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari, in a party meeting in Calcutta, called for scrapping the minority cell of the ruling BJP and also dumping of the slogan “Sab ka saath, sab ka vikas”, which was proclaimed by Narendra Modi himself in the run up to the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

“I spoke about the nationalist Muslim in the past. I won’t say that any more. You [the BJP leadership including Narendra Modi] spoke about Sab ka Saath Vikas. Bandh karo sab ka saath sab ka vikas. No need for a minority cell,” Adhikari said. “We are with those who are with us.”

Adhikari has blamed Bengal’s Muslims for the BJP’s dismal performance in this year’s Lok Sabha polls in the state and also the bypolls held in four Assembly constituencies last week.

Singh has also often targeted the Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and the ruling Trinamul, alleging they are pushing for a “Muslim Pradesh.”

“They are trying to create another Bangladesh and Pakistan. Mamata does not trust Hindus. If a new state is created in the state it will be Muslim Pradesh,” Singh had earlier said.