Muslims need not be afraid of BJP, which has ensured that there is no communal violence in states ruled by it, senior party leader Murli Manohar Joshi said here today.
“Muslims need not be afraid of the BJP at all because they are patriotic citizens of this country. And the party has ensured that states ruled by it see no communal violence,” Joshi told PTI in an interview.
Joshi, the party’s Kanpur Lok Sabha candidate, further said that in “BJP-ruled states like Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Goa, Chhatisgarh, has anyone heard of any riots”.
The BJP leader, while making a reference to party veteran Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s tenure as a prime minister, asked, “Under his regime, which places saw communal riots?”
Alleging that all other parties want to garner votes from Muslims by inciting “fear of BJP”, Joshi asked them not to be tricked by anyone and said “if they (Muslims) have to fear anyone, they must fear the Allah and not the BJP”.
“Muslims must feel secure if the party comes to power as BJP never incites any riots,” he said.
Dubbing the last ten-year rule of Congress as a “decade of destruction”, Joshi claimed that BJP was “on its way” to attaining the magic number by itself alone.
“The anti-incumbency wave and the winds of change in the country suggest that BJP was moving towards the magic number by its own. But, we will still keep our NDA allies with ourself even if we get a full majority,” he claimed.
Attacking Congress, Joshi alleged that it has destroyed the nation and burdened the common man under the weight of inflation.
“Congress is going to hand over the legacy of huge inflation and badly-hit economy to the next government,” he said.
Distancing himself from a BJP leader’s controversial remarks that those opposing its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi should go to Pakistan, the senior leader said, “This could be an individual view point and the party has nothing to do with it”.