Author: (The Rediff
Interview/Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi)
Publication: Rediff
on Net
Date: September 6, 2000
Former information and
broadcasting minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, who is likely to be named one
of the general secretaries of the Bharatiya Janata Party by president Bangaru
Laxman, has already begun functioning as one. Being one of the few
Muslim leaders in the Hindutva party, Naqvi's nomination as a key official
is being taken as a foregone conclusion.
In an interview with
Onkar Singh, Naqvi claimed that more than 1.6 million Muslims have enrolled
as primary members of the party in the last three years. "The clean
administration provided by the Vajpayee government has instilled a sense
of security amongst Muslims. We took time to counter the anti-Muslim
propaganda carried out by the Congress and other political parties.
Now Muslims know the real face of the BJP," Naqvi claimed.
He believes the Muslim
community has forgotten the Babri Masjid issue. "Muslims have practically
forgotten the issue because they too want education, development and other
facilities. They now feel that they are amongst equals and are no
longer treated as second-rate citizens," he asserted. Excerpts:
Your party president
Bangaru Laxman has given a call to Muslims living in India to join the
BJP. Do you think this will help the BJP win over the Muslim vote
bank?
After watching the performance
of the Vajpayee government for the last three years, Muslims in India have
begun to feel that the campaign unleashed by the Congress against the BJP
was totally baseless. It was designed to keep Muslims away from the
BJP. This campaign was so deep-rooted that we had to struggle hard
to remove all the doubts Muslims had about the BJP being an anti-Muslim
party. But the BJP succeeded in convincing Muslims because it has
been providing good governance.
But Congressmen say that
when rioters come into power, then there is nobody to engineer riots against
the minority communities. And this is why there is peace.
I do not buy this theory.
They resort to such allegations against the BJP out of sheer frustration.
The fact is that the Congress party has been thoroughly exposed on all
fronts and its credibility has touched an all-time low.
But BJP member Sikandar
Bakht is still unhappy with the party's top brass and is sulking at home.
When you cannot please even one Muslim, how can you please the rest of
them?
Who says he is upset
with the party? He holds a senior position in the party and partymen and
leaders have great respect for him. As far as a post in the Cabinet
or the party is concerned, he has been given responsibilities from time
to time and he has been shouldering these responsibilities. I don't
think he is unhappy with the party.
You are tipped for appointment
as a general secretary. Is that correct?
How can I answer that?
I am right now secretary in the party and I feel this itself is a great
responsibility. If I am given any additional responsibility, I will
discharge my function as a party worker with full dedication and honesty.
It has been seen that
when a Muslim leader is given any responsibility in the BJP, barring his
own immediate supporters, Muslims in general desert him.
I don't think this is
true. When I was president of the BJP's youth wing, a lot of Muslims
who were members of the youth wing continued to give me their support.
I have been national secretary of the party for the last six months and
during this period, more and more Muslims have come into the BJP fold.
More then 16 lakh Muslims are enrolled as primary members of the BJP now.
Has the Muslim community
forgotten about the demolition of the Babri Masjid? This is what Congress
leaders ask.
Babri Masjid is no longer
an issue with the Muslim community. Other issues, which affect their
day-to-day lives, have taken precedence. You cannot keep harping
on the Babri Masjid issue time and again and hope to get the support of
the Muslim community. This realisation has already dawned on our
community. Muslims have forgotten about it, but the Congress party
keeps reminding them of it from time to time in the hope of capturing their
votes. Then there are people like Syed Shahabuddin who literally
ran his shop on this sentimental issue.
What would you do to
ensure that Muslims come into the BJP fold? Can you count five or seven
such points that would help the party widen its base in the minority community?
The first and foremost
thing that needs to be done is to tell the minority community that they
are equal citizens of this country. They should not consider themselves
second-rate citizens. They have to be told who are the real culprits
responsible for their backwardness. They have to be told how to differentiate
between a real and an artificial issue. They should understand that
the bill on Muslim Personal Law will not take away their right to practise
their religion. We have to tell our Muslim brothers and sisters what
the Vajpayee government has done for them. We have to expose them
to the realities of present-day life.
Why are Muslim leaders
afraid of supporting the Uniform Civil Code?
Political parties in
India have been giving a wrong picture of the Uniform Civil Code.
They have been told that if the Uniform Civil Code comes into force, they
will not be able to go to the masjid. They will not be able to say
their prayers. That they would cease to be Muslims. These doubts
need to be dispelled.
Will Bangaru Laxman succeed
in bringing Muslims into the BJP fold?
He will succeed.
I have no doubt about it. The day he gave the call to Muslims to
join the BJP, the opposition parties looked worried. The Muslim community
will respond positively to his call. I feel there is a need for the
top BJP leadership to tour Muslim-dominated areas and explain their points
of view on various issues that have been the cause of misunderstanding
between them and the Muslims.
