Zakir Naik is betting on a Congress comeback — and Union Textiles Minister Giriraj Singh wants him to know that bet will never pay off. On Thursday, October 22, 2026, the senior BJP leader fired off a sharp political broadside on X, warning the fugitive preacher that India's doors are permanently shut to its enemies, regardless of who cheers them on from within.

In the post, written in Hindi, Singh declared: 'जाकिर नाईक को पता है कि प्रधानमंत्री मोदी जी के राज में दाल नहीं गलेगी' — 'Zakir Naik knows that under Prime Minister Modi's rule, his tricks won't work' — and accused Naik of waiting for a Congress government to return to power. Singh then turned on the opposition, stating that the country has already witnessed Congress's 'old exploits' and that the party will 'never get a majority again.'

Naik's decade-long exile and the legal net around him

Zakir Naik, founder of Peace TV and one of India's most controversial Islamic televangelists, has been living outside India since 2016, when the Enforcement Directorate and other central agencies launched cases against him on allegations of money laundering and hate speech. His departure came directly under the watch of the Modi government, which framed strict action against him as a marker of its zero-tolerance approach to radicalisation. Extradition proceedings have remained a live issue ever since.

The legal pressure on Naik has long been cited by the BJP as evidence of a decisively different security posture compared to the UPA era (2004–2014), when critics allege the ecosystem around figures like Naik faced little institutional scrutiny. Congress has consistently denied enabling anti-national elements and has pushed back on what it calls political targeting of Muslim voices.

Singh's 'cockroaches of the ecosystem' charge

The most pointed language in the post was reserved not just for Naik but for what Singh called the broader 'ecosystem' — using the vivid Hindi epithet 'तिलचट्टे' (cockroaches) for those he accused of supporting anti-national forces. He warned that no amount of backing from 'enemies of the country' would reopen India's doors to such figures.

This kind of language is increasingly standard in BJP social-media messaging, where senior leaders frame national-security debates in electoral terms — casting opposition sympathy for accused individuals as proof of unfitness to govern. The Begusarai MP has historically been among the party's most combative voices on issues of nationalism and minority politics.

The electoral subtext: BJP's long-game messaging

The timing and framing of Singh's post are deliberate. By linking Naik's alleged hopes to a Congress resurgence, the minister is doing double duty: reinforcing the Modi government's strongman-on-security credentials while simultaneously hammering Congress as the refuge of 'anti-national' sympathisers. It is a well-worn BJP playbook — but one that has proved consistently effective at animating its base and putting the opposition on the defensive.

Whether Congress responds publicly, or whether fresh developments emerge in Naik's extradition case, will determine how far this particular salvo travels beyond the social-media news cycle.

The message from Giriraj Singh is unambiguous: as long as this government stands, the welcome mat stays firmly rolled up.