BJP Muslim outreach begins with ‘Sufi Dialogue’

The idea of the programme is to go among the Muslim community, bring to their notice the fact that the Modi government had worked for all, says media coordinator for the programme

March 15, 2023 07:44 pm | Updated 07:44 pm IST - NEW DELHI

President of the BJP’s minority morcha Jamal Siddiqui. File 

President of the BJP’s minority morcha Jamal Siddiqui. File  | Photo Credit: K.V.S. GIRI

Sufi Samvad (Sufi Dialogue) programme was launched at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi, under the aegis of the party’s minority morcha, as a means of reaching out to the Muslim community, with a year-long set of programmes planned by 150 non-political people, to end with a big meeting to be addressed by Prime Minister Modi himself.

President of the BJP’s minority morcha Jamal Siddiqui said it was on the direction of Prime Minister Modi to reach out to the Sufi community who are “advocates of peace and harmony”. “Prime Minister Modi spoke of ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas’, therefore we also should have ‘sabka saath’ as an important component,” he said.

Speaking on the occasion, Yasir Jilani, media coordinator for the programme, said, “this is a great occasion where people working in Sufi dargahs across 30 States have gathered at the BJP headquarters, to firm up our programme for the Sufi Samvad. The idea of the programme is to go among the Muslim community, bring to their notice the fact that the Modi government had worked for all, irrespective of caste, creed or community, and dispel the notions set out by Opposition parties on the BJP and Prime Minister Modi.”

A majority of the programmes will be aimed at Muslim-majority areas, districts where there is up to 20% or more of the Muslim population. States like Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Kerala, Bihar and Telangana will be included in this programme. Within Uttar Pradesh, programmes are being planned to be held in Saharanpur, Meerut, Rampur, and Azamgarh, while in Bihar, Kishanganj, Araria, and Katihar Lok Sabha constituencies will host events.

The main talking point of the Sufi Samvad would be to show how the welfare programmes undertaken by the BJP-led Central government have been uniformly implemented without discrimination. The planning for the programme, minority morcha leaders said, came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked BJP leaders at the Hyderabad national executive of the party to reach out to deprived sections among the Muslim population, as they too have benefitted from the welfare policies of the Modi government.

Another programme which is being launched by the BJP’s minority morcha, also from the same Hyderabad meeting, is the “sneh milan” goodwill meeting with Muslim community members, with the slogan “one nation, one DNA”. These will start at the end of March and 12 such meetings will be held in Muslim-majority Lok Sabha constituencies.

Top News Today

Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.