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| Friday, 23 April 2004 |
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Indian PM urges strong Hindu-Muslim bonds NEW DELHI, Thursday (AFP) India's prime minister called Wednesday for stronger bonds between Hindus and Muslims to foster a spirit of "brotherhood" that would strengthen the nation as voters geared up for a second round of polling in general elections. Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's appeal came after a campaign in which his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) played down its hardline Hindu image and sought to build bridges with India's Muslim community as part of a drive to pitch itself as a mainstream party. Indians go to the polls Thursday in the second of five phases of the polls that are being staggered to allow security forces and election officials to move around the vast country of over one billion people. "I have been striving for years that Hindus and Muslims in the country live together, foster brotherhood, help each other and make each other secure so that together they could take the country forward," Vajpayee, seen as the moderate face of the BJP, told a group of Muslims at his New Delhi residence. Vajpayee said he was sure Muslims shared his sentiments. Indian Muslims have realised "their progress is possible only if people work and live together," he added. The BJP rode to political centre-stage in the late 1980s on a shrill Hindu revivalist platform and critics accused it of bias against Muslims. In 2002, opposition and human rights groups said the BJP government in western Gujarat state turned a blind eye to religious riots in which at least 2,000 Muslims died - charges it denied. During this election, the BJP has campaigned on a platform of strong economic growth and its nascent peace drive with Pakistan. BJP leaders have also met frequently with Muslim leaders on the campaign trail and included them in their election appearances. Referring India's cricket team which this month finished its first full tour of Pakistan after a gap of 15 years, Vajpayee noted some players were Muslims. |
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