BJP reaches out to Muslim women

Leader of the Opposition LK Advani on Sunday again reached out to Muslims, especially women, promising them a fair deal if the BJP-led NDA came to power at the Centre.

He said, “Irrespective of what percentage of Muslims vote for the BJP and the NDA, our government if voted into office, will work for the welfare, development and security of Muslims with the same commitment as we shall show towards non-Muslims. We will work for 100 per cent of our people.”

He was addressing a Muslim women conference organized by Shahnawaz Hussain, BJP's minority morcha chief, on Sunday —- as part of a strategy to woo them ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

Advani said, "I do not believe in any kind of discrimination on the basis of religion. We accept — and are indeed proud of — the religious diversity of India."

Advani said just because a section of the Muslim leadership mistakenly, and for its own vested interests, pursued the ‘Two Nation’ theory, and brought about the tragic division of India, “there is no justification to view Indian Muslims through the prism of what happened 60 years ago.”

Advani said, "Our adversaries say that Muslims will never vote for the BJP. But we are proving them wrong.”

Advani urged the Muslim community to not to leave everything to government policies and programmes, but to focus on their women's education and jobs. He asked Muslim women to go back to their families with the message that the BJP is not against them.

Shahnawaz Hussain said a message had gone out that Muslims should give the BJP a chance. Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, BJP vice president, blamed the "so-called secular parties" for making the Muslims appear as terrorists and as second-rate citizens.