BJP is committed to devpt of Muslims: Gadkari

Nagpur: Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari said on Sunday that BJP was committed to development of Muslims and they should not fall prey to false propaganda of other political parties. “If they don’t scare you, how will they (the parties) get Muslim votes,” said the minister while addressing a conference on ‘Issues of Muslims and Solutions’ organized by Vidarbha Muslim Intellectual Forum.

“BJP believes in the welfare of all Indians irrespective of their caste, creed and religion. Any man who wears saffron robes does not represent BJP. If such people issue anti-minority statements, BJP should not be held responsible,” said Gadkari.

The minister asked Muslims to emulate former president of India Dr APJ Abdul Kalam and Wipro chief Azim Premji. “They reached the top on their own and earned the respect of all communities. If Muslim community can produce 10 more Premjis then the community as well as the country would benefit greatly,” he added.

He emphasized on the need for providing education to Muslim youth. “No doubt, it is the government’s responsibility to provide education but the community should also take initiative in this regard. Youths should be trained to become entrepreneurs so that they provide jobs to others,” said Gadkari.

The minister stressed that Muslim intellectuals should give special attention to educate girls. “We need more Muslim girls as IAS officers, engineers, doctors, architects, etc” he said.

Earlier, MLC Wajahat Mirza said Muslims were a backward community and government support was needed for their upliftment. “A new survey states that 27% of kids between 6 and 14 years who don’t go to school are Muslims. If 100 Muslim students take admission in Standard I then only 72 reach Standard X,” he added.

Former MLA Ashish Deshmukh said there was an atmosphere of fear among Muslims ever since BJP came to power at the Centre. “BJP treats Muslims as second class citizens,” he added.