Bharatiya Janata Party candidate for the Coimbatore Parliamentary constituency C.P. Radhakrishnan told members of the minority communities on Saturday that the party was concerned about the welfare of the minorities.
Campaigning at Ukkadam, Kotaimedu and other areas dominated by the members of the communities, he said that the BJP’s stand against extremists and fundamentalists should not been seen as one against minorities.
The party, unlike others, wanted to take along Muslims, Christians and other minorities in the nation-building process and not use them as vote banks. During his first stint as a Member of Parliament he had polled very few votes from the areas dominated by minorities but that did not deter him from spending for their development.
Mr. Radhakrishnan said that he had spent Rs. 25 lakh to help them get basic infrastructure facilities. But that did not help him when he contested again and won for the second time. For, he went by what Atal Behari Vajpayee had told the BJP candidates then – after victory, an MP was the representative for all sections of people, including those who had voted against the person.
This election was for development of the people, including that of the members of the minority communities. They needed access to education and employment and that they would get just as minorities in Gujarat were enjoying those under Narendra Modi’s leadership, he added.
He wanted the people to not get carried away by those who make tall promises and implement none.
