The National Executive ... views the coming mid-term general election as an unique opportunity for the people to elect a Government that is purposive, believes in implementing people-oriented policies and is confident of providing the nation with able leadership ..
Let the 'mandate of 1998' be a mandate for a stable Government and an able Prime Minister, both of which the BJP alone can ensure ...
... The correct response to the destablising politics of the Congress and the UF would be for the people to vote overwhelmingly against both of them and thus punish these wreckers of democracy.
.. The ISI's vicious activities have spread to new geographical areas and are posing a threat to national integrity. By seeking to pamper separatists in Jammu and Kashmir, the Gujral Government has emboldened those who have been waging war against the Indian state and given a fillip to their murderous activities ... In the east, infiltrators continues unabated.
The National Executive is confident that the BJP is the only party which will occupy the political space that is being rapidly vacated by the other parties ..
The moment has arrived for the BJP to play its destined role - to provide leadership to a nation betrayed by pretenders; to provide good governance ... to revive the spirit of optimism, opportunity and oneness ...
This is the turning point in post-independence India's history, a point from where India will embark upon its journey into the next millennium ... We pledge to build ... society free of fear and hunger and a nation confident of facing internal and external security challenges. We pledge to usher in an era of social harmony where the weaker sections shall be able to live in peace and dignity, where the honour of women shall be protected, where the youth shall be active participants in the sacred task of nation-building ... where the genuine social and economic problems of the minority communities shall be taken care of by a responsive and responsible state. (Source: The Organiser, 4 January, 1998)
RSS: G.S. Seshadri on Hindu Nationalism
Hindus have never demanded exclusive concessions for themselves. They have stood for the common benefit. ..
It is not the question of Muslim or Hindu interest. In fact there is only national interest. And Hindu interest is national interest. Hindus only demand that there should be no discrimination on the basis of religion and such other factors. But certain Hindu elements inherent in Bharatiya tradition should be upheld.
BJP: Views of Atal Bihari Vajpayee On General Elections
The BJP-led coalition will be stable, because the largest party (BJP) will be sharing power with allies ...
Even leaders of the minority communities treat the BJP with respect. The old charge against the BJP that it is non-secular no longer holds good. India is a Hindu majority country where every caste, creed, and religion has equal rights. No BJP leader denies this fact. Nor does anyone challenge our secular credentials any more. Of course, we believe in Hinduism because it is a commonwealth of all religions.
... Of course, it is true that there was not even a single Muslim member amongst BJP Lok Sabha members in the past. We want to field Muslims this time. But such decisions are ultimately dictated by the winnability factor. Wherever we find Muslims BJP members having good winning potential we shall field them ...
... Whatever I am, it is because of the party to which I belong. (Source: The Times of India, 7 January, 1998)
BJP: A.B. Vajpayee's Views
The minorities are realising that their economic and social backwardness is entrenched by vote-bank politics. Also, the absence of communal tension and lack of discrimination in BJP-ruled states has made more people see us differently.
Article 370 was meant to be a temporary feature. To us, the Uniform Civil Code does not mean the substitution of personal law of the minorities with that of the majority but the availability of equal rights for everyone. However, both these are emotional issues and opinion building would be essen .. al before any progress is possible. (Source: The India Today, 29 December, 1997)
BJP: Views of Kalyan Singh On Election Strategy
The larger section of Muslims do realise that BJP regimes have always ensured riot-free environment everywhere. You could see our track record. Never has there been any riot during the course of BJP rule, whether in UP or in any other state ... A good chunk of Muslims including Shias supported the candidature of Atalji even at the last elections, because they realise that today's economic prosperity among Muslims is attributable to the opening of doors for employment in Gulf countries, that was Atalji's gift to Muslims when he was the external affairs minister in 1977. BJP has certainly not left its Hindutva line, but ... there are other even more vital issues that cannot be ignored. But let it not be misconstrued that we are going to compromise on our principle of ensuring justice to all and appeasement of none. (Source: The Sunday, 4-10 January, 1998)
Saeed Naqvi On BJP's Impact on Muslims
A question is being asked whether Muslims will vote for the BJP - not en masse, but possibly in driblets. In other words, has the untouchability quotient of the BJP declined as far as the minorities are concerned?
There are two reasons why this question is being asked. First, because of the mass defection of the minorities from their traditional haven, the Congress. Specifically on account of the Babari Masjid fiasco in December 1992. Secondly, the moderate image of itself being projected by the BJP.
Contrary to the settled opinion in some Muslim circles, it is not an easy question to answer. The fact of the matter is that the minorities have traditionally feared the BJP. Since 1992 they have been angry with the Congress. But the manner in which the BJP has been packaged for the stalls on this occasion is certainly an improvement on all previous efforts at salesmanship. Unfortunately for the party, anger with the Congress does not necessarily translate itself into minority votes for the BJP. There are other aspirants for these votes.
There is another complicating factor. Just as the acceptability of the BJP has increased, however marginally, the anger with the Congress has dissipated itself partly because of the passage of time, and, decisively on account of the change in the party's leadership ... (To come back to) the essential question ... the answer must be a resounding "no" for the current round of electioneering, largely because the window dressing the party has engaged in has been seen by the minorities as just that: Window dressing. It will have to spell out a well-defined policy towards the minorities and sustain it until the elections next century before the Muslims turn to it as a party with which their future is secure .... (Source: The Pioneer, 11 January, 1998)
Zafar Jung's Views On BJP's Overtures
... Despite (its) persistent propaganda, the saffron gentry has yet to furnish any credible historical and archaeological evidence to prove the existence of so-called "Ram's birth place" which Babar is alleged to have destroyed ... In one of his recent historical works S.R. Sharma mentions that "there is no evidence of his ever having destroyed a Hindu temple or otherwise persecuted the Hindus on account of their religion"
However, truth and transparency are the prime casualties of a fascist movement and nationalism the last refuge of a scoundrel. That the BJP's nationalism is not only exclusive and anti-Muslim but essentially an attempt to impose a decadent social order, has been established by the aversion to the Hindutva movement of a large segment of the Hindu population itself, forcing a rethinking in the BJP camp.
Advani's address ... to the so called National Muslim Youth Conference is merely an Orwellian doublespeak and can at best be described as an election ploy to garner the votes of liberal Hindus. Further, Advani's offer to speak to VHP on the issue of Mathura and Kashi is not only a gimmick but also ridiculous given the face that the Mathura temple-mosque controversy was amicably resolved by the Shahi Idgah Trust and Shri Krishna Janmasthan Seva Sangh of Mathura through a written agreement signed on October 18, 1968.
It would be suicidal on the part of Muslims to take chances with the BJP given its track record. Moreover, any conciliatory gesture on the part of BJP, real or imagined, is not likely to succeed until its 'honorary foot soldiers' in the press stop indulging in falsification and untruths about Muslim history, their society, culture and religion. (Letter to the Times of India)
Lok Shakti: President R.K. Hegde's Views On BJP's Record
BJP when out of government and when in charge is different. It is on its best behaviour when in power and many of my Muslim colleagues in Maharashtra have told me that there have been no problems with the BJP-Shiv Sena combine government. (Source: The Times of India, 16 December, 1997)
Shahabuddin's Letter to Hegde, 17 Dec., 1997
In your interview (Times of India, 16 Dec.,1997) you have certified that "the BJP, when in power is on its best behaviour" and have given the example of Maharashtra.
Even in Maharashtra, the Joshi Government, has abolished the Minorities Commission, tried its best to sabotage the Sri Krishna Commission of Inquiry into Mumbai Riots, December, 1992 - March, 1993, cut down the grant-in-aid to the state Urdu Academy, failed to notify the new Wakf Act, 1995 and establish Wakf Tribunals, captured Muslim shrines and declared them as Hindu shrines (e.g. Baba Malang Dargah near Bombay), throw Muslims on the street in Mumbai in the name of slum clearance and denied them rehabilitation, withdrawn criminal cases against Bal Thackeray and Sarpotdar related to riots as well as insult to Islam, terrorised Muslim youth by killing even innocent people in so-called encounters.
What is important is to realise that the objective of the RSS-BJP-Shiv Sena is not to exterminate Muslims but to terrorise them into Hinduisation. This is being done by Kalyan Singh Government in U.P. which has made Sanskrit compulsory from class III, apart from Hindu and English, leaving no room for Urdu, the Mother Tongue of Muslim children and introduced Hindu rites and customs in schools in the name of moral education, purged text books of all positive references to Islam and Muslims in India and stuffed them with stories about Hindu gods and personalities and Hindu myths and legends. This is cultural and linguistic genocide - contrary to the letter and spirit of the Indian Constitution and the UN Convention. Do you approve all this?
Amulya Ganguli's Report on Uma Bharati
... BJP's fiery propagandist Uma Bharati (in) her recent interview in Panchjanya, a magazine propagating the Sangh Parivar's views, makes clear (that) there has been no dilution of the B.IP's stand at all. In fact, there is even an implied threat that if the Muslims do not learn to live in amicable terms with the Hindus, they may suffer.
To a question whether the Muslims want to be friendly towards the BJP because they believe that the party is coming to power, she said that the Muslims may have realised that they cannot live in "Hindustan" if they are in conflict with the Hindus. According to her, their feeling of insecurity increased when the saffron flag began to flutter over the demolished Babari "structure"
She further said that the Muslims were also told by RSS chief Rajju Bhaiya at a recent convention that if a count is taken of the number of policemen in each thana, it will be clear that the police will not be able to protect those who earn the enmity of the Hindus.
"Only Hindus can give the guarantee for the protection of Muslims. And this can only happen when they establish friendly relations with Hindus". Clearly, in her view, such friendliness, and not the rule of law enforced by an impartial administration, is necessary for the safety of Muslims. Or else ...
Ms. Bharati scoffed at the question whether the BJP had softened its stand to woo the Muslims. "The question does not arise", she said.
"All our issues have remained as they were. The Muslims have accepted us as we are ... If they accept Advani and Uma Bharati as they are, what is your problem?" Apart from anything else, there is no mistaking the emphasis on "us" and "they" in her references to Hindus and Muslims as two distinct communities, recalling the two-nation theory.
As always, the Sangh Parivar seems to be pursuing a two-pronged strategy. While Mr. Vajpayee is projecting the Parivar's moderate face ... the hard-liners are making sure that there is no retreat ... The purpose may be both to reassure the Parivar's traditional vote bank, who may feel uneasy about the wooing of Muslims, and to ensure that the BJP itself does not deviate from the Hindutva plank ..
BJP: Views of Uma Bharati
... The Muslims have themselves realised that the issue is equality and not appeasement. The issue is barabari (equality) and not Babari. The Congress has always played upon Muslims fears that they will be victimised by the Hindus but most of them can now see through the gameplan of leaders like Mulayam Singh Yadav.
Amit Sharma on BJP's New Line on Muslims
There are few among the Muslims of Uttar Pradesh who believe ... Vajpayee, when he promises security for all, including religious minorities if the party assumes power at the Centre.
"He (Vajpayee) is not even taken seriously by his own partymen. They gave similar assurances before the demolition of the Babari Mosque but what happened?". asked Zafaryab Jilani, convenor of the Babari Masjid Action Committee. ...
"It has become a practice among Sangh Parivar leaders to say one thing one day and to issue another opposing statement the next day. One of the senior BJP leaders said that the Kanshi and Mathura shrines were not on their agenda but he was made to eat his words the next day", said Jilani.
In keeping with its overall political strategy, the BJP is trying hard to project a less threatening image and to dilute its hitherto strong stand on religious minorities.
Prominent Muslim leaders, however, see the BJP's attempts to come close to the community as a move aimed at creating confusion on the eve of the Lok Sabha elections ... so that the Muslims may not vote en masse in favour of any party.
Former vice-president of the UP Congress Committee Amar Rizvi has ... floated a Forum for Minorities and has claimed that he would work for the BJP provided it come out with a definite programme for overall uplift of Muslims. "We do not think the BJP is untouchable ... We will support that party which assure real benefits to the minority community," said Rizvi.
But Rizvi's contention was countered by Mohammed Sulaiman, state chief of the Indian National League, "Muslims can never forgive those who demolished the Babari Mosque" ... (Source: The______ 12 January, 1998)
