BJP chief Rajnath Singh appealed to Indian Muslims to give his party a chance in the coming Lok Sabha elections. He said this while talking to Arab News during his visit to Lucknow from where he is contesting for Lok Sabha poll.
He said his party is ready to give tickets to Muslims. “In many states we have done that. If someone has applied and is a serious candidate, there is no question of not considering his candidature,” Rajnath said.
Singh, who was warmly welcomed by the party’s minority cell volunteers, had apologized to the minorities for any “past mistakes”. The gesture was made not just for the Muslim dominated Lucknow but also to keep NDA allies and other parties engaged if the BJP falls short of the majority mark of 272 in the Lok Sabha.
He said “I will fulfill the dream of the former premier of India, Atal Bihar Vajpayee’s Lucknow constituency to make Lucknow a bio-tech city.”
Singh also tried to clarify the confusion over his contesting from Lucknow and denial of ticket to Lalji Tandon who had been contesting for Lok Sabha in place of the ailing prime minister’s constituency since one decade.
“The pary’s election committee has decided all the tickets, including the Lucknow seat for me. A few months back, Lalji Tandon had spoken to me and had offered the seat to me. I accepted his offer,” he said.
Singh said after the Supreme Court’s observation that the Muzaffarnagar riots were due to the administrative and intelligence failures, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh Yadav should have resigned. If this government has an iota of morality left, it must resign immediately, now that the indictment has come from the apex court itself.
But I wonder why those who have been after Modi despite his having been given a clean chit in connection with the 2002 (Gujarat) riots are silent against the Samajwadi Party. Why this double standard?” he asked.
