India has always given shelter to those who require it, said Nitin Gadkari.
At today's rally in Delhi's Ram Lila Maidan, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said that Hindu and other minorities are subjected to a number of atrocities in Pakistan including forceful conversion and rape.
"Hindus in Pakistan are subjected to religious persecution, women are raped, and there are forceful conversion and others. Is being Hindu a crime?" asked Mr Gadkari.
"I have met those who are refugees from Pakistan at Jodhpur. The women told that they were raped, the property was looted and they were driven out. They were subjected to such atrocities that they have to flee from Pakistan and take shelter in India," he added.
The union minister said that India is a tolerant country that has no expansionist agenda and has never done religious conversions on the basis of the sword.
"We have always given shelter to those who require it. Bharat has never done the forced conversion on the basis of the sword. The Muslims from India who goes to Saudi Arabia are called "Hindus" because our identity is not related to any religion," he said.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Act for the first time makes religion the test of citizenship in India. The government says it will help minorities from three Muslim-dominated countries to get citizenship if they fled to India before 2015 because of religious persecution. Critics say it is designed to discriminate against Muslims and violates the secular principals of the constitution.