Modi invokes Jan Sangh leader in Muslim outreach

THE MEETING OF THE BJP’S DECISION-MAKING BODY SAW THE PARTY GOING FOR A COMPLETE IMAGE MAKEOVER

KOZHIKODE: Muslims should be treated as “our own” and not as a vote bank or a subject of contempt, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, quoting Jan Sangh leader Deen Dayal Upadhyay on Sunday to buttress the BJP’s commitment to inclusiveness.

He said the popular definition of secularism was distorted and an environment had been created in which patriotism was cursed.

The PM’s remarks in his address to the BJP national council in Kozhikode encapsulated renewed attempts by the ruling party to woo those who are perceived to be indifferent to the party’s outreach.

The three-day meeting of the BJP’s apex decision-making body saw the party going for a complete image makeover, reaching out to Dalits, tribals, and other marginalised sections of society.

It came in the backdrop of Opposition parties’ projection of the BJP as pro-rich and antiDalit, especially in the wake of the suicide by University of Hyderabad Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula last year and beating of Dalit youth in Una village of Gujarat this year. These allegations could hurt the party’s prospects in the assembly elections in five states early next year.

Modi rued efforts by certain sections to deliberately create misconceptions about the BJP. He invoked Deen Dayal Upadhyay to suggest that no section of society should be treated as ‘untouchable’ and Muslims should be treated equally.

“Musalman ko na puraskrit karen, na tiraskrit karen, unka parishkar karen (neither appease Muslims nor slight them; embellish them),” he quoted the RSS ideologue as saying. “Musalmano ko na vote ki mandi ka maal na hi koi ghrina ki vastu samjhe. Usse apna samjhe.”

Modi reiterated his commitment to the poor and the weaker sections, saying they are central to his schemes and all future endeavours will be aimed at their welfare. He spoke in detail about economic and social disparities, underlining the need for a sense of unity that shouldmakeonefeelthepainwhen there are atrocities against any section of the society. This came in the backdrop of incidents of atrocities against Dalits in the country.

The BJP’s political resolution adopted by the national council on Sunday said the disparities faced by the Dalit society could not be completely eradicated in last many decades and the BJP will promote social harmony this year to end these disparities.