Kerala BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar, on Wednesday, claimed that Muslims in the state don't vote for the saffron party, and alleged that there is a narrative spread by the LDF and the UDF that the saffron party is against Muslims. He sought to know what do Muslim community gain by voting for the Congress.
His remarks come ahead of the Kerala local body polls, set to be held on December 9 and 11.
Speaking at a press conference, the BJP leader, when asked about the lack of Muslim representation in the Union cabinet, said his party never harmed anyone and added that the BJP has prominent Muslim leaders like Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Shahnawaz Hussain.
"Even today, there are Muslim MPs in the Rajya Sabha from Jammu and Kashmir. In Kerala, there are many Muslim BJP candidates in local body elections," he said.
He noted that late A.P.J. Abdul Kalam became President under the NDA. "We have done our part. Before 2017, there wasn’t a single cabinet minister from Kerala either. Our national vice president is Abdullakutty, and our state vice president is Abdul Salam."
Chandrasekhar said the BJP is not like Jamaat-e-Islami, as unlike the latter, which openly states that they do not want the Constitution and do not believe in democracy, the saffron party believes in the Constitution and democracy.
He alleged that for the last three decades, a false narrative has been created saying the BJP is communal and anti-Muslim and called this "hypocrisy."
"To remove this misunderstanding, a Muslim outreach team has been formed under the leadership of Prof. Abdul Salam. They are meeting people, building dialogue, not for votes, but to understand why such misconceptions exist," he said.
The Kerala BJP president said the saffron party never acted against any religion, and never will.
"The narrative that the BJP is anti-Muslim has been created by the LDF and Congress. But we are against Jamaat-e-Islami and SDPI because they act against the Constitution. We are also against those who support them, the LDF and Congress. BJP stands against anti-constitutional forces, not against any religion..."
He vowed that the BJP will work hard to earn the trust of the Muslim community and end the poisonous campaign led by LDF and UDF.
