Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak has termed the BJP a "true well-wisher" of Muslims while alleging that secularists used the minority community as a vote bank and did not give them its due rights.
Pathak said this addressing a meeting of Pasmanda Muslims organised by the BJP Minority Morcha here on Sunday.
"So-called secular parties used Muslims only as a vote bank. These parties came to power by taking votes of Muslims, but the community never got its rights. This is the reason why Muslims are so backward today," he said.
The BJP is a true well-wisher of Muslims and it is making meaningful efforts to bring them to mainstream, Pathak claimed. "For this, the government is running many schemes, which are benefiting the Muslim society," he added.
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Minority Welfare Minister Danish Azad Ansari said if there is any party that seriously thinks of Muslims, it is the BJP. "The way the BJP is worrying about education, security and progress of Muslims, no other party has done it before," he claimed.
Ansari said one of the biggest reasons for the backwardness of Muslims is that they were never allowed to get quality education. BJP governments under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath have paid special attention to provide quality education to them, he added.
BJP’s Rajya Sabha member Ghulam Ali said it is necessary for the Muslim community to move ahead by taking full advantage of the schemes being run by the government.
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He said other parties have so far done nothing for the Muslims but served their political interests by claiming that the community should fear the BJP. What is important now is that Muslims understand who is working for their welfare and who used them in the past, he said.
(With PTI Inputs)
