BY Siraj Qureshi
Politics may make people do things that they would not normally do. Politicians sometimes go to the extreme in an effort to stay in power and while sometimes they succeed in that attempt, they also fail a lot of times.
Prime Minister Modi’s campaign in Gujarat is a clear example of political opportunism, where Modi, who was being projected as the saviour of Hindus, is fighting tooth and nail with the Congress to gain the approval of Muslims in his home state.
Commenting on PM Modi’s campaign, Bhartiya Muslim Vikas Parishad Chairman Sami Aghai said that this is the same Narendra Modi who had refused to wear a skull cap offered by some Muslim leaders, and now the same Modi paused his speech when he heard the sound of azaan from a nearby mosque in Gujarat.
Aghai said that Modi is the leader of all 125 crore Indians, but the majority Hindu population of India, especially North India, is trying to project him as a leader of only Hindus who will remove Muslims from India and make ‘Hindustan’ a land of only Hindus. At this time, when Modi pauses his speech for the Azaan, he is trying to send a signal to the Gujarat Muslims that he is secular and accords the same respect to all religions. However, at the same time, Modi’s BJP is trying to differentiate between Hindus and Muslims in Gujarat.
He said that it was disgusting how a simple error like signing a register meant for non-Hindus at the Somnath temple by Rahul Gandhi’s media adviser could be projected by the BJP as a way to prove its baseless theory that Rahul Gandhi is a Muslim or a Christian because his great-grandfather was supposedly a Muslim and his mother is a Christian. Aghai said that although the Congress has issued a clarification that Rahul was indeed a Hindu, it was hard to understand why such petty issues like a leader’s religion were being made so important by the BJP. “If Rahul Gandhi was a Muslim, would that make him ineligible for contesting the elections”, he asked.
Talking to India Today, a local Muslim intellectual and senior citizen said that if Modi has decided to come back to the land of secularism, he is more than welcome. He said that India was formed as a secular country and not on the basis of religion. Those who wanted a separate country in the name of their religion left India for good in 1947 and those who remained here, were all secular-minded people. If now, attempts are being made to create a rift between the Hindus and Muslims by some right-wing elements, Modi’s change of heart will go a long way towards dissuading such forces.
Courtesy: India Today