Indian politics (has been) sought to be defined and developed in the past 17 months - namely, that the BJP is a communal party which is anti-Muslim and anti-minorities. (This is) the biggest fraud ... perpetrated on the people of India and on the entire parliamentary democratic system of India by the self-styled defenders of secularism ...

There could not be a more nauseating example of trickery and deception in a democracy ... This propaganda by these fraudulent, power-hungry pseudo-secularists ..

... If defending secularism, even the wrong way in which they understand and practice it, is what was most important to them, why did (Congress and UF) fall apart? After all, "defence of secularism" was the sole basis on which the United Front was formed and the Congress had extended unconditional support to it. Why, then, did the Congress withdraw support to the UF Government – not one but two governments in a span of 17 months?

This clearly shows that their advocacy of "secularism" and their shrill noise about defending Muslims from the BJP was bogus and hypocritical ...

I have, therefore, no doubt that the people of India - and especially the Muslim people of India - have now fully seen through these cheats ... All the right-thinking Muslims know that the BJP is not a hypocrite. We do not think something and say something else. We do not speak one thing and do something else. What is in our mind is on our tongue, and what is on our tongue is in our action.

India became free because of the struggles and sacrifices of brave and idealistic young men like Ashfaqullah Khan ...

... May you take inspiration in this mission from martyrs like Ashfaqullah Khan. But may you also seek inspiration ... from public figures like the scientist Dr. Abul Kalam, who has deservedly been honoured with the nation's highest civilian title "Bharat Ratna". May your role models be young achievers like Mohammed Azharuddin and A.R. Rehman, who make every Indian proud with their talent.

The BJP believes that India is 'One Nation, One Culture and One People'. This is what our opponents oppose us for, and this is what they say proves the BJP to be anti-Muslim and anti-secular. But they never have explained how. Isn't Indian one nation? Those who believed in the two-nation theory caused the Partition of India and created Pakistan ...

Today there are (more) Muslims in India than in either Pakistan and Bangladesh. Does that mean that, even after Partition and Freedom, India continues to comprise two separate nations - Hindus and Muslims? The proposition is both absurd and dangerous. Does that mean that, after Partition. India is a nation only for the Hindus and that Muslims live here only at the sufferance of the Hindus? The proposition is equally absurd and dangerous ... India was, is and always will be One Nation, in which people professing different faiths and people belonging to different castes, races and linguistic communities will have and equal place, equal voice, equal rights and equal responsibilities.

What unites these ... diverse communities into a single national community? It is neither religion nor economy nor the political-administration system. Rather, it is our national culture. This point is either misunderstood by some people or deliberately misrepresented by others. For example, the BJP supports the demand for the construction of a magnificent temple at Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya not only because the religious sentiments of the majority community are associated with it, but also because Shri Ram is a great symbol and source of inspiration of India's national culture (and) belongs to every" section of India's population including Muslims.

When the BJP says 'One Culture' (it also) recognises the cultural diversity of India. There is no country on the face of this earth which is more culturally diverse and rich than India. But all these sub-cultures of region, religion, race, caste and language find their harmonising and unifying expression in India's national culture. ...

What is the meaning of this oneness? The answer was provided by Archbishop J. Arlappa of Hyderabad who stated at a function early this year: "I am a Christian by faith, Indian by nationality and Hindu by culture".

.. The religion of Islam and the community of Muslims have also made their own unique and rich contribution to India's national culture. We see this contribution in the diversity of India's architecture, music, arts, literature, science, artisanry, food, language and spirituality. The BJP unequivocally recognises this Muslim contribution to India's national culture. For example, Urdu, the language spoken by most Indian Muslims, is an Indian language. We would like it to grow ...

... Who can say that we are not 'One People'? The BJP brooks absolutely no discrimination among the people of India on the basis of their caste, creed or ideology, the only common obligation on all being adherence to the spirit and commandments of the Indian Constitution. Muslims are a part and parcel of India. We seek their welfare and progress as much as we seek the welfare and progress of any other community in India. This is not a new realisation for us, nor are we saying this just to endear ourselves to the Muslim community ...

... We genuinely believe everyone who is an Indian to be 'blood of our blood and flesh of our flesh'. Events like the one in Coimbatore recently pain us deeply. Communal riots are a blot on the culture and civilisation of India. Irrespective of whose blood is spilt in such riots, it is the Indian blood that is spilt. The BJP is committed to the goal of building a riot-free and violence-free India ... The youth has a special responsibility to fight fanaticism, fundamentalism, communalism and terrorism ... regardless of which brand they surface under. Communal harmony and Hindu-Muslim amity should be the mantra of Indian youth ...

During my Swarna Jayanti Rath Yatra, I had issued an appeal to Indian Muslims, urging them to understand Cultural Nationalism and forge heart-unity with their Hindu brethren ... "The BJP is interested in, and will sincerely strive for, a qualitative change in the relationship that now obtains between our party and India's Muslim community. The very thought of excluding such a large section of Indian population is repugnant to us".

Muslims in India are victims of many problems such as poverty, unemployment, lack of educational opportunities, and even less-than-proper representation in the political affairs of the nation. To a nationalist party like the BJP, it is a matter of deep concern that a community as big as Indian Muslims should be suffering from so many disabilities. We are unequivocally

committed to the welfare and progress of Indian Muslims, because our slogan is: "Justice for All. Appeasement of None".

(During) the past five decades successive governments of the Congress and other self-styled secular governments indulged in blatant tactics of appeasement in order to get their support, but did precious little to improve the lot of common Muslims. The BJP is not opposed to the minorities, but to minorityism ... practiced by the Congress which has, in fact, hurt the interests of the minorities themselves. ....                 (Source: The BJP Today, 16-31 December, 1997)