Former Prime Minister of India - Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee

Statement by Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee

I am saddened by the reaction of certain political parties to my appeal to Muslim voters in my speech at an election rally in Varanasi on February 19, 2002. One political party has accused me of trying to “divide the people of India”. Another party has gone to the extent of demanding my “disenfranchisement”! It is unfortunate that the level of political discourse in our country has dipped so low as to be devoid of even elementary concern for facts.

First, the facts. Here is what is said at Varanasi:

“… I have a word for my Muslim brethren. Many parties are telling our Muslim brothers that they should defeat the BJP. Why? What has the BJP done? Our government has been there in the state. Our government is there at the Centre. There has been no discrimination, there is no insecurity—we have treated all sections of society equally. Moreover, there is the Constitution; a Human Rights Commission has been set up; there is the judiciary; and there are newspapers. If there is any injustice against anybody, than that injustice can be removed by recourse to these institutions. They can initiate stern steps against such injustice.

“However, to urge our Muslim brothers to vote in such a way as to defeat the BJP, that connotes a very wrong way of thinking. For one thing, the BJP is going to win even if they vote against the Party. But my question is: Why should they vote against us? During our tenure we have established good relations with Muslim countries across the world. The way we have governed the country for the past two-and-a-half years is a testimony to the truth that we do not discriminate on the basis of religion. For us, Muslims are not merely Muslims. In our eyes, they are human beings. And not only human beings, we look upon them as Bharat Mata ki Santan (the children of Mother India). Muslims too are fighting for India on the borders.

“Muslims are in a majority in Kargil, but they did not side with Pakistan. Even Muslims of Jammu and Kashmir do not want to secede from India. Which is why, terrorism has been encouraged there. Pakistan talks of ascertaining the views of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. It should know that elections are held in Jammu and Kashmir every five years. People express their views in these elections. After some days, the state is going to polls once again. The people will once again give their verdict. Doodh ka doodh, pani ka pani ho jayega. (Truth will come out as truth, and falsehood will be exposed.)

“However, Pakistan knows that Kashmir does not want to merge with it. Which is why, it is doing jabardasti, it is aiding and abetting terrorism. They have already lost to our army in open wars. Because they could not win against us in open wars, they have resorted to a proxy form of war. And that form is terrorism.”

By no means does my statement indicate that the BJP does not need the support of Muslims. On the contrary, in rally after election rally, I have stated that we would very much like them to support us on the basis of our performance and our promise. Far from seeking to divide the people of India, it was aimed at fortifying their unity.

Many of the BJP’s critics have for long excelled in sketching scary scenarios for minorities in general and Muslims in particular in the event of a BJP or a BJP-led government. They have predicted it would endanger the lives and property of Muslims. When we were not in power, Muslims of India had no opportunity to test the truth or otherwise of the charges that our political opponents leveled against us. But now my Government has been in office for nearly four years. It was indeed voted back to power in the last Parliamentary elections. The BJP has also been in power in Uttar Pradesh for the past few years. So, my Muslims brothers and sisters now have an objective reference point to know whether the alarmist predictions or our critics have indeed come true.

The shrill propaganda that the BJP is anti-Muslim has indeed had some influence on Muslim voters in the past. But the situation is changing. Muslims in India have seen that the BJP has been growing from strength to strength despite our critics’ farrago of lies about us. At the same time, they have also seen that those parties that make monopoly claim over secularism and project themselves as the sole saviors of Muslims have been doing so principally to get en bloc votes of Muslims and nothing else. The lot of Muslims has not changed when they have been voted to power with significantly greater backing from Muslims.

It is astounding that those opposition leaders who have criticised me have done so even without verifying my complete statement. Moreover, it is not that they do not know me. Never in my long life in politics have I played the communal card to win elections. My life and my work are a testimony to the importance I attach to harmony between Hindus and Muslims for the sake of national integration and India’s all-round development.

I have given this lengthy rejoinder in the hope that our critics will stop this unfortunate diatribe by taking a relook, with an open mind, at my actual statement in Varanasi, my arguments above, and, most importantly, the actual performance of my Government in the past four years.