New Delhi, February 25
BJP chief Rajnath Singh today asked Muslims to give his party a chance in the General Election and not go by the “propaganda” being spread by the Congress. He also promised to apologise “if there has been any mistake and shortcoming” on the BJP’s part.

The saffron party is trying to reach out to the Muslims — the largest minority community in the country that constitutes 14.23 per cent of the population — ahead of the General Election. He was addressing an event: “Modi for PM - Mission 272 plus - The role of Muslims”.@@But top Muslim leaders here dismissed it as “election time rhetoric that did not change the existing situation much”. According to Syed Ahmed Bukhari, Shahi Imam of the Jama Masjid, “two words” from Rajnath could not help the “festering wounds of the past many years”.

“Did he (Rajnath Singh) say anything about the Gujarat riots,” he asked.@@On whether the situation could change if the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi apologised for the 2002 Gujarat riots, the Shahi Imam said, “We will see when that happens. As far as I can see, it will make no difference. You can ask anyone in the community”.@@Kamal Farooqui, former chairman, Delhi Minority Commission, said he, personally, had respect for Rajnath Singh and former BJP Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.@@“But Muslims are confused about Modi as he always speaks against the Muslims. Modi should first clarify what he meant when he openly distinguished between Hindu and Muslim immigrants from Bangladesh. While speaking in Assam, he said all Hindus from Bangladesh should be settled in India and Muslims deported. We want to know whether it was a slip of the tongue or he actually meant it,” he said. Addressing a gathering of Muslims here, BJP chief Rajnath Singh asked them not to vote for electing a government but for a strong nation.