The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Yeddyurappa seeks closer ties with Muslims

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Wednesday, Mar 25, 2009
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Yeddyurappa seeks closer ties with Muslims

Special Correspondent

He wants to shed BJP’s ‘anti-minorities’ tag

— Photo: K. Gopinathan

Appeal: Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa at the function organised by the BJP’s Karnataka State Minority Morcha in Bangalore on Tuesday.

BANGALORE: Seeking to shed the Bharatiya Janata Party’s “anti-minorities” tag, Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa has appealed to the Muslim community to come closer to the party.

“I request Muslims to come closer to the party and see for themselves the programmes taken up by the party,” Mr. Yeddyurappa said after inaugurating the ‘Vijay Sankalp Samavesha’ organised by the party’s Minority Morcha here on Tuesday as part of the party’s Lok Sabha campaign.

Mr. Yeddyurappa claimed that statistics showed that Muslims accounted for about 25 per cent of beneficiaries of the State Government’s Bhagyalakshmi programme. Similarly, a good number of Muslims were receiving monthly pension under the Sandhya Suraksha programme started by the BJP Government.

Mr. Yeddyurappa also reiterated that his Government had allocated Rs. 167 crore for the welfare of minorities, an amount unmatched by the previous governments.

Claiming that the BJP Government had concern for Muslims, Mr. Yeddyurappa promised to invite representatives of the community for talks on programmes for the progress of Muslims after the Lok Sabha elections. “I can’t make any assurances at this juncture in view of the model code of conduct,” he said.

However, Mr. Yeddyurappa acknowledged that the BJP was not strong enough to field a Muslim candidate in the coming elections. “Neither is the party nor are you (BJP supporters among Muslims) so strong that the party can field Muslim candidates and win elections. We will surely do so whenever the time comes,” he said.

Mr. Yeddyurappa reminded the audience that he had promised to induct a Muslim into the Cabinet even before the 2008 Assembly elections and fulfilled the promise by providing a ministerial berth to Mumtaz Ali Khan.

Earlier, BJP MLA C.T. Ravi criticised the non-BJP parties for painting the BJP as a “monster” and an “anti-minority” party so that they could garner the votes of Muslims and Christians. “Neither the BJP nor the RSS is anti-minority. I am a member of the RSS, and it doesn’t preach hatred towards other communities. The RSS only inculcates patriotism,” Mr. Ravi said.

Earlier, the BJP’s Karnataka Minority Morcha president, Derrick Fullinfaw, MLA (nominated), and vice-president Anwar Manpadi spoke.

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