The Hindu : Think carefully before you vote, Vajpayee tells Muslims

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Feb 26, 2004

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Think carefully before you vote, Vajpayee tells Muslims

By Neena Vyas

NEW DELHI, FEB. 25. The Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, today appealed to Muslims to think carefully before casting their vote in the coming general elections, even as he dwelt at length on India-Pakistan relations and his repeated efforts to make peace with the neighbour.

At a minorities' development rally organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party at the Talkatora Indoor Stadium here, Mr. Vajpayee addressed several thousand Muslims, men and women, who had come from different parts of the country to hear the party's message to the minorities.

Talking about the coming Lok Sabha election, Mr. Vajpayee said: "In a few days you have to decide. Think carefully before you take a decision (soch samajh kar faisla kijiye)... I want to bring a feeling of wellbeing to all... "

"It was wrong propaganda that no new employment opportunities have been created. The National Highways Project and construction of houses under another scheme has generated employment," he said. The country was at a crossroads and it was not easy for the people to decide whom they should vote for. The Government had not differentiated among people on the basis of religion.

"I am addressing you as the Prime Minister. This is not the venue for a Congress-BJP fight," he said when someone from the audience made a comment. "I want to create a new India. Help us. This is my appeal," Mr. Vajpayee added.

Earlier, Mr. Vajpayee dwelt on his attempts to achieve peace with Pakistan, tracing his Lahore bus journey and the recent peace moves. The world over walls between countries were breaking down, and India should not be caught up in a trap of the past. "We have fought long enough (bahut ladai ho chuki). We cannot waste our money on wars. Who will benefit from this fight," he asked. Now the soldiers on the borders were firing no shots and people in India and Pakistan wanted peace. "People should live together in peace and fight poverty, not each other."

If walls could not be brought down, at least a window should be kept open, and if even that was not possible, "we can look at each other through the ventilator." He talked of the recent atmosphere of goodwill between the two countries that had made travel by people easier, uniting people, bringing them closer, re-uniting families separated for years.

He wondered why the BJP was described as a "communal" party. His view was that different yardsticks were used for different parties to measure their secular convictions. Unlike the Muslim League, which had been working with the Congress, the BJP was not a party only for Hindus. "We could have had a party only for Hindus. We didn't."

As for communal riots, he said there were small (chutput) incidents which had been quickly controlled. "On the borders and on the streets the atmosphere is better and a feeling of brotherhood (bhaichara) has increased."

Earlier, the BJP president, M. Venkaiah Naidu, asked Muslims to shed their minority complex. "You are equal citizens of India. This gathering is not for collecting votes, but for your development," he said.

The event was one of the few major BJP shows at which the Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani, was not present. Besides Mr. Vajpayee and Mr. Naidu, others who spoke included the Union Finance Minister, Jaswant Singh, the Textiles Minister, Shahnawaz Husain, the party general secretary, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, and the new entrant, Arif Mohammad Khan. Mr. Husain drew the loudest applause whenever his name was mentioned and when he spoke.

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