Kalyan Singh

LUCKNOW: It was an all-out attack on Muslims and "Muslim appeasement," which was the single focal point of the Bharatiya Janata Party's four-page political resolution adopted by its national council here on Saturday.

If the resolution itself fought shy of naming Muslims as the villains of India's problems relating to terrorism and internal security, Kalyan Singh, former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and now projected as the party's candidate for the post, left little to imagination when he seconded the resolution proposed by Sushma Swaraj.

He asked the delegates to use Hindutva to help create a "volcano" that would "burn" and "kill" Muslim appeasement "forever." "Let us not be shy of saying that all terrorists — those who attacked the Akshardham temple, Raghunath Mandir and Parliament — were Muslims," Mr. Kalyan Singh said. "Not one Hindu gave shelter to any of these terrorists who had come from Pakistan. Who do they come and stay with? Where do they find shelter?" The answer: "Muslims." Mr. Singh said the BJP did not have to be ashamed of what happened in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992, when the "disputed structure" (the Babri Masjid) was brought down.

The four-page resolution focused entirely on the "politics of appeasement."

Linking the fate of terrorists with Muslim interests did "injustice" to "nationalist Muslims." It rejected any affirmative action based on religion.

Describing all talk of measures to help Muslims develop educationally, socially and economically as "vote bank politics," the resolution said this would give "special citizenship" status to Muslims that would "pave the way for a second Partition."

The party would resist all attempts to give religion-based benefits.

The BJP mentioned the Sachar Committee report, delay in hanging Parliament attack case convict Mohammad Afzal, attempt to give reservation to Muslims and the Prime Minister's remarks at the National Development Council as all constituting the "appeasement" and "votebank" politics of the Congress. If Muslims had fallen behind, it was because of the Congress policies, it said, blaming it also for the "injustice to Muslim women" through the overturning of the Shah Bano ruling by the Supreme Court.

The resolution dovetailed into the party's renewed emphasis on Hindutva and its no-holds-barred campaign strategy for Uttar Pradesh that depends on a Hindu-Muslim polarisation to help the BJP return to its politically pre-eminent position in Uttar Pradesh.

The party believes that "other" parties will fight for the Muslim vote and it will run away with the Hindu vote.

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