Re: Mr.Modi says America need not preach about Human Rights..
Thanks Player. I learnt a few things here. Point taken that things are changing. I have cut and pasted some sections that show if we dig under the hood, things are not what they seem. But having said that, you did provide new info for me. (Told you you were smarter :))
Noted human rights activist J S Bandukwala, who is also the president of the Gujarat unit of Peoples Union for Civil Liberties(PUCL) points out that Modi is using the elections by fielding Muslims on BJP symbols as a tactics to divert the focus so that Muslims forget his complicity in 2002 riots and he gets acceptability among BJP allies in NDA so that he can fulfill his dream of playing a role in BJP at national level. However, Bandukwala, who himself suffered a lot in 2002 riots, painfully says that there were a group of Muslims like former IPS and IAS officers and industrialists and also `maulanas’ who were working at the behest of Modi to forget 2002 in exchange for material benefits.
According to Bandukwala, pro-BJP results in Muslim dominated pockets are also due to reorganisation of wards and seats by BJP government to divide the Muslim areas in such a way so that Muslims politically become ineffective. He gives the examples of Mughalwada in Vadodara which had been split into three pieces and each part clubbed separately with three other wards with Hindu majority so as to make Muslims politically meaningless. He said that the Congress was also collaborating with the BJP in this endeavour.
If Bandukwala is to be believed, then there is another reason as well. According to him, it is the Congress stalwart Ahmed Patel not allowing any other Muslim leader to grow. The young Muslims with ambition and feeling frustrated with the Congress due to Patel’s tactics are therefore drifting to BJP that has provided a space to them to realise their political aims.
But Mehboob Ali, Gujarat BJP (Minority Cell) president opines that Muslims are joining BJP and support it because of the Congress party’s indifferent attitude towards the community. While the Congress did practically nothing except raising slogans of extending benefits to the community, it resulted in secular Hindus as well turning against Muslims being projected as pampered class. According to Ali, it only led to more suffering for the community and members of it have now seem to have realised the Congress tactics and slowly moving towards BJP because there is no third political option available in Gujarat..
JS Bandukwala is a known Modi opponent, so I would take what he says with a grain of salt. Its like Congress questioning the progress that Gujarat has made and giving alternative explanations for it.
The key points to note are -
Tremendous progress in Gujarat since 2002 which benefits Hindus and Muslims alike.
Modi has won in Muslim dominated areas so a good chunk of Muslims are voting for him.
Muslims contesting elections on his party’s tickets/under his leadership. I dont agree with the view that Muslims would join a “mass murderer” just because Congress is indifferent towards them
Not a single communal riot in Gujarat since 2002. Prior to that there was a riot/curfew every year in Ahmedabad for the annual Janmashtmi rath yatra.
Lets give the guy credit where its due.
