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Lok Sabha Elections 2019: Muslims in India safe under Modi, says Shahnawaz Hussain

The BJP national spokesperson hit out at the Congress for creating a misconception among the Muslims

Updated on: Apr 7, 2019, 14:29:01 IST
Hindustan Times, Pune | By
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HT Correspondent

Shahnawaz Hussain, BJP national spokesperson, speaking to (left) Girish Bapat, BJP Lok Sabha candidate from Pune, at a campaign event organised at Azam campus on Saturday. (Shankar Narayan/HT PHOTO)
Shahnawaz Hussain, BJP national spokesperson, speaking to (left) Girish Bapat, BJP Lok Sabha candidate from Pune, at a campaign event organised at Azam campus on Saturday. (Shankar Narayan/HT PHOTO)

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Shahnawaz Hussain on Saturday said Muslims in India “are in safe hands of Prime Minister Narendra Modi” and that the Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has never distinguished people on the basis of caste or religion.

Addressing a press conference on Saturday, the BJP national spokesperson also hit out at the Congress for creating a misconception among the Muslims.

“The BJP has succeeded in winning the hearts of the Muslim community; hence Muslims are in the safe hands of PM Modi. The party never considered them as vote bank politics,” he said. He pointed out that while the BJP launched many schemes, these were not for any particular community, but for people belonging to all sections of society.

About the 10 per cent quota for the economically poor, he said, these reservations are for people from any religion. “Our government has not withdrawn any reservations for any community; instead we have given 10 per cent reservation to the economically poor sections of the society across all religions,” he said.

When asked about Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s criticism on the treatment of senior leader LK Advani, Hussain attacked Gandhi and said he “did not have any decency” of showing respect to the senior leader and must apologise for his remarks.

Hussain said in view of the enormous problems of traffic congestion faced by the people of Pune, the BJP government has come up with the Metro project for the city. “We are committed to the development of Pune city through Smart City project,” he said.

Hussain, who is the national spokesperson of the BJP, lost marginally from Bhagalpur during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and has been denied ticket this time. When asked about the denial of ticket to him and party seniors such as LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Sumitra Mahajan, he said, ”Denial of ticket does not means disrespect of the candidate.”

Hussain later addressed a rally at Azam Campus, a cluster of minority institutions, in the city.