BJP minority wing leaders are facing questions over the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, Uniform Civil Code (UCC), and recent reports of attacks on Muslims during the party’s ongoing membership drive that began on September 2, say sources. In the face of it, convincing Muslims to come to the party fold was challenging, leaders of the BJP’s minority wing said.
Anticipating questions on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, the BJP had addressed the issue in a workshop for the party’s Alpsankhyak Morcha (minority wing) in New Delhi on August 27. “In that session, minority leaders were told that when community people raise questions on the (waqf) Bill, they have to tell them that the NDA government wants to bring transparency in functioning of waqf boards. We were told to convey the message that needy Muslims were not getting benefits of waqf properties and that only a few rich people have taken control of such properties. We were told to convey that the Opposition was misleading people on the Bill,” said a leader from the BJP’s minority wing.
However, as BJP leaders hit the ground, they are discovering that not all are convinced. A leader from the BJP’s minority wing in Uttar Pradesh said: “We are facing difficulties convincing Muslims on the waqf Bill. Also, the community is upset about some speeches made by senior BJP leaders made during the Lok Sabha elections.”
A BJP minority wing leader from Uttarakhand, the first state to implement a UCC, said people have been questioning the government’s intent on the move. Referring to the Chamoli incident where a mob targeted around a dozen shops owned by Muslims following an allegation against a 25-year-old man from the community, the leader said that people are asking him: “Why should he become a BJP member if his community engaged in ‘land jihaad’ ”.
However, the party remains confident of turning the tide due to its government’s welfare schemes. BJP minority wing UP president Kunwar Basit Ali said: “Around 3 crore Muslims in the state got the benefit of schemes by Narendra Modi and Yogi Adityanath governments. They praise Modi ji and Yogi ji. We are reaching out to them. We will meet Sufis, Muslim scholars, and visit madaras. Women workers will meet the victims of triple talaq and appeal to them to join BJP… Over 5,000 workers have been deployed and five lakh members from the minority communities in Uttar Pradesh will join the party.”
Uttarakhand’s minority wing president Intjar Husain said the BJP will recruit three lakh Muslims from the state alone, downplaying the impact of the waqf Bill and other rows. “There are around 14 lakh Muslims in Uttarakhand and they have all benefited from different schemes of the BJP government. We are approaching all of them. We are holding camps in Muslim-populated areas. We are appealing to them to join the BJP because this is a party of nationalist ideology and it provides benefits without discrimination,” Husain said.
Rajasthan BJP minority wing president Hameed Khan Mevati said: “We have data of around 1.5 lakh labharthis from minority communities. Anti-BJP people are trying to mislead them but party workers are encouraging them to join the party.”
On Sunday, the UP BJP minority wing flagged off a van for the membership drive. A large screen atop it plays a video on the history and rise of the BJP, including the party’s Somnath and Ayodhya rath yatras and the firing on kar sevaks in Ayodhya during the agitation for the Ram Temple.
On why Muslims would join the BJP after watching videos of the Ram Temple movement, Ali said: “Ram Mandir is the soul of the country. No Muslim in the country is against Ram Temple and is also not upset with the BJP because of the Ram Temple. Building it was a court decision… We are appealing to them to become BJP members not on the basis of religion. It is on the basis of nationalism and the need to strengthen the country.”
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