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Gujarat
rejects charges of 'duress' by terror law convicts |
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Don’t
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Tendulkar,
India's most loved sportsman turns 37 today |
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voting:
EC seeks statutory changes |
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Gujarat
ordered to compensate riot victims made homeless |
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SC
notices on Ayodhya:
Mahants upbeat, BMAC unfazed |
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India on
track to meet poverty reduction goal: World Bank |
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Israeli
PM refuses to halt Jerusalem constructions |
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A senior IPS officer,
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PM refuses to halt Jerusalem constructions |
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I was the
last minute inclusion in the 3-member team that was visiting United
States as part of the International Visitor Leadership Program
sponsored .....
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SC
notices on Ayodhya:
Mahants upbeat, BMAC unfazed:
Ayodhya saints today
welcomed the Supreme Court's decision to issue notices to the Centre
and the Uttar Pradesh .....
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New Delhi:
Seeking to reach out to Muslims, BJP President Nitin Gadkari today
said his party is not against the community but was unfortunately
caught in an image warp.
At the same time, he said, there was
nothing to be apologetic about Hindutva or the core issues of the
BJP, including uniform civil code and Ram temple at Ayodhya.
"We are not against Muslims. We are not a communal or caste-based
party. We are only against terrorists and not against any religion,"
Gadkari told PTI.
Lamenting that BJP's problem was "image versus reality", he said it
was "unfortunate". He targeted the Congress, accusing it of not
executing Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru because he was a
Muslim.
Replying to a range of questions -- from the BJP's Prime Ministerial
candidate to its strategy on cut-motions in Lok Sabha this week --
Gadkari sought to keep the cards close to his chest, including on
queries whether it was ready for immediate mid-term elections.
When asked if the BJP would woo Muslims in its bid to increase its
vote-base, Gadkari said, "100 per cent, we will reach out to
Muslims".
Gadkari said BJP wants members of the Muslim community to join the
party and this process may be slow but should be with conviction.
"We want to remove their hunger, poverty, lack of education," he
said.
On the issue of the Babri Masjid demolition he said, though the
incident was "unfortunate", what was demolished was a disputed
structure and not a mosque.
"A mosque is one when prayers are offered regularly...
Moreover, a Ram idol was kept there," he pointed out.
At the same time, the BJP President said for his party, Ayodhya was
not a political issue and was a matter of faith and all parties
should look at it rising above political considerations.
Besides, Gadkari said the BJP was weak in several states like West
Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh and has to raise its
basic strength by working among SCs/STs, minorities and unorganised
workers.
He also said the BJP was trying to increase its influence among the
professionals and intellectuals.
On the mina opposition's plans for Uttar Pradesh, Gadkari said the
party would go it alone in the state and try to gain a foothold as
there was a renewed hope that working with mutual trust and
transparency will bear results.
Asked about the party's strategy to reach out to the youth vis-a-vis
Congress, which is positioning Rahul Gandhi to woo them, Gadkari
said BJP has sent a maximum number of 31 young MPs to the Lok Sabha.
"Let him work," was his cryptic response when asked what he thought
of the young leader.
Attacking Congress for playing "dynastic" politics, he said a man
like him who once stuck party posters can become president of BJP
but in Congress even top party leaders cannot aspire to fill the
slot which is "booked" for members of the Gandhi family.
Gadkari also sought to differentiate between his visits to Dalit
households and that of Rahul Gandhi, saying he does not believe in
taking the media with him to seek publicity.
"Visiting Dalit households is not a part of our political strategy.
It is a natural part of BJP's functioning," he remarked.
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