PM Modi reaches out to pasmanda Muslims; asks cadre not to make mistakes of Opposition

Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasised at the BJP national executive meeting here that instead of the appeasement policy of opposition parties, the organisation should work to fulfil aspirations of all sections of the society. He made a special mention of the Pasmanda (Dalit and backward) Muslims, a community which has got representation in Yogi Adityanath’s Council of Ministers in Uttar Pradesh.
In his valedictory address to the twoday BJP meeting that concluded here on Sunday, Modi slammed dynasty politics and said people were “fed up” with those promoting family rule. He cautioned BJP’s rank and file from making the mistakes that the opposition parties, primarily Congress, have made which has led to their decline.

Modi said the party should adopt two approaches: “P2 to G2, meaning pro-people and good governance”, and move away from “appeasement (opposition’s policy) to fulfilling aspirations of all sections”.

Earlier, during a presentation by UP BJP chief Swatantra Dev Singh on the recent bypoll victory in Azamgarh and Rampur — both bastions of Samajwadi Party with numerically dominant Muslim population — the PM made an important intervention.

Sources said Modi suggested that BJP should make efforts to gain support of the Pasmanda Muslims, the backward and Dalit section which is economically and socially deprived.

This was a reiteration of the party’s stand in UP where it appointed Danish Ansari, a party leader who is a Pasmanda Muslim from Ballia in east UP, as minister of state for minority affairs in the Adityanath dispensation. He is the lone Muslim face in the team.

BJP has made similar attempts to gain the support of the Shia Muslims in Lucknow and other parts of the country, arguably with considerable success.

The PM also gave a call to the cadre to adopt a new approach while reaching out to the people. He said while till now the party workers mostly undertook a “sangarsh yatra” which focused on struggle, they should now undertake a “sneh yatra”. “In contrast to the negative thought of the opposition, can we not undertake a sneh yatra where we meet the ASHA workers, the patwari, the honest police personnel in a thana…,” Ravi Shankar Prasad said quoting the PM.

Coming down heavily on the opposition, the PM, according to Prasad, said: “The country is fed up with dynasty politics and is equally fed up with dynasty parties. It will be difficult for dynastic political parties to survive for long.” The prime minister further said that before questioning the democratic credentials of BJP, these parties should look within about democracy in their organisation.

Modi alleged BJP workers have suffered immense hardships and violence from political opponents in West Bengal, Kerala and Telangana. However, BJP has adopted a democratic stance and appreciated the contribution of even its political opponents, he added.

“The prime minister stated that our democratic thought is seen in the case of Sardar Patel. Though he was a Congress leader, we have built the tallest statue in the world in his honour,” Prasad said. Similarly, when the PM Museum was built, all former prime ministers, including those who had laid atrocities on political opponents (alluding to Indira Gandhi’s Emergency), were given due importance.”

Citing the example of parties which are in decline now, Modi said: “Today, many political parties which ruled India for many years are fighting for their existence… We should not make the mistakes they committed.”

Incidentally, the PM mentioned the word Bhagyanagar twice in his speech. Prasad said Modi lauded the role of “Hyderabad Bhagyanagar” as having special sentiments for the party as it was here that Sardar Patel had given the message of “one India”, integrating Andhra Pradesh with the rest of the country.

BJP leaders have insisted that if the party is voted to power in Telangana, it will rename Hyderabad as Bhagyanagar in the name of Goddess Bhagyalakshmi, whose temple is located adjacent to Charminar.