New Delhi, Sunday 25 April 2010: 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 said. 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.

Seeking to turn the tables on the Congress over the issue, Gadkari asked whether Vallabhbhai Patel could be called communal for taking initiative for the construction of the Somnath Temple. He also said the BJP was trying to increase its influence among the professionals and intellectuals.

(PTI)