PM Modi Vows To Reach Out To Minorities & End Fear Among Them, Are His Words Enough?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was addressing a meeting of National Democratic Alliance&rsquos newly elected members of Parliament. He showed his well known oratory skills to mesmerise the gathering and set the tone for the government and council of ministers who will take oath in the next few days. Modi said that minorities have been made to live in fear and treated as vote bank.
While the entire country was seeing a video clip of Muslim youths being thrashed black and blue on the suspicion of carrying beef, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was addressing a meeting of National Democratic Alliance¡¯s newly elected members of Parliament.
The PM showed his well known oratory skills to mesmerise the gathering and set the tone for the government and council of ministers who will take oath in the next few days.
One of the highlights of his speech was his clear reference to the condition of the minorities and the responsibility of the government to make sure that they join other communities in the country on the path development. Modi said that minorities have been made to live in fear and treated as vote bank.
He told the MPs that there¡¯s a need to develop trust among the minorities. ¡°We have worked for ¡®sabka saath, sabka vikas¡¯, now we have to strive for ¡®sabka vishwas¡¯,¡± he said.
The international media has been quite critical about PM Modi¡¯s policies, particularly vis-¨¤-vis Muslims in India.
After his win, US senator also reminded him of the plight of Muslims in the country.
PM Modi's rule in India has corresponded with the spread of violent Hindu nationalism and hate crimes against Muslims.
¡ª Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) May 24, 2019
The United States should stand for religious freedom in India and the fair treatment of all religious minorities. https://t.co/QsfOJEbos2
It must be kept in mind that during the run up of the elections, many of the BJP candidates indulged in communal slurs with people accused of communal violence attending BJP rallies.
Even worse was the decision was to field a terror accused, Sadhvi Pragya from Bhopal seat in Madhya Pradesh. She first insulted 26/11 martyr Hemant Karkare then went on to glorify Mahatma Gandhi's assassin. She also claimed that she played a pivotal role in demolishing Babri Masjid.
All these controversies were preceded by a number of lynching cases in the last five years where the PM mostly chose to ignore the attacks on the minorities.
This time, however, he seems to have begun on a decisive note right from the word go.
reuters
¡°We have to end this cycle,¡± he said, with an urge calling for winning the trust and confidence of minorities, as he also said that the politics of alliances is a reality and important to fulfil regional aspirations.
For 70 years, India¡¯s poor were betrayed. In the last 5 years, an effort was made to change this culture.
¡ª Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 25, 2019
Similarly, for 70 years, minorities were treated only as vote banks. ¡®Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas¡¯ aims to correct this wrong and work towards real empowerment. pic.twitter.com/TtzXq9Qd8L
For PM Modi, the second coming give his great change to be a uniting force in the country and prove his critics wrong. Will he be able to win the trust of the minorities as he mentioned in the central hall of the parliament or what is just an 'inclusive' speech that is there for the record only? It looks difficult.
If one is to assume that PM Modi is serious about reaching out to minorities, then there is a huge fight that he will have to face within his close circles. BJP is full of leaders inducing Pragya Thakur, Sakshi Maharaj, Kailash Vijayvargiya and Giriraj Singh etc. who waste no time spewing venomous statements that result in distrust for what is aimed at a larger level.
Muslims constitute a large number of labour force in India, they can play a important role in PM's flagship 'Make in India' project. Several Muslim students have made it big after getting educated in Madrassas. Will there be an unbiased approach towards helping the institutions that are helping Muslim students getting education?
All this and many other things will be keenly observed in the time to come. The onus is on the PM, whom will he prove correct. His believers who take his words like liturgical texts yet evidently hate minorities, or the naysayers, who firmly believe that the PM is the victim of his own credence that can't let him grow above and beyond the communal convictions.
News Editor with Indiatimes. He writes on National Affairs and the Middle East.
