The dilemma before the BJP is ... not simply about Muslim vote or to capture power. It is much more grave, one that of Hamlet's: "To be or not to be". The party at present is working on the principle that if it jettisons the virulent anti-minority stand there is no reason why, in future, Muslims will not vote for it. Minus its anti-Muslim posture, the BJP is like any other party, be it the Congress, Janata Dal or Samajwadi Party all of whom have exploited the minority for electoral gains. But it negates its basic principle of being a value-based party "with a difference".

The BP must come to terms with the fact that with the demolition of the Babari Masjid, it has left an indelible scar on the psyche of Indian Muslims - a scar perhaps no less poignant than that of Partition ...                                                        (Source: The Pioneer, 20 February, 1998)