– A K Kukkila
While the atrocity in Pahalgam in Kashmir exposed the threat of terrorism to the world, the subsequent developments have also exposed the hypocrisy of the Union Government. The Modi government has formed 7 all-party delegations to convince the world about Pakistan-inspired terrorism. There are 59 members from various parties, including Congress, Left, NCP, Shiv Sena, TMC, DMK and of course BJP. These delegations will visit America, European countries, Africa, Gulf countries, and the United Nations to convince the world about Pakistan-inspired terrorism and to sway the world countries in favour of India.
If you look at the members in these delegations, it is clear that the Modi government has formed this team very wisely. This team has been formed in a way that proclaims unity in diversity and justifies the slogan of Sabka Saath. Out of these 59 members, 10 are Muslims including Ghulam Nabi Azad, Salman Khurshid, E.T. Muhammed Bashir, Mian Altaf Ahmed, M.J. Akbar, Asaduddin Owaisi. The question is here.
Why did the Modi government, which has not included a single Muslim in the Union Cabinet, choose Muslims for the team to enhance India’s image in foreign countries? If there are enough experts and accomplished leaders in the Muslim community who can influence foreigners, why have they been excluded from the Cabinet?
So, there is no point in arguing that they were not selected for the Cabinet because there is not a single Muslim MP among the 240 BJP MPs. Nirmala Sitharaman has also not been elected to Parliament. JP Nadda has also not been elected to Parliament. S. Jaishankar, Ashwini Vaishnav, Hardeep Singh Puri were also not elected in electoral politics. All of them were made Rajya Sabha members and then inducted into the Union Cabinet. So why are Muslims excluded from such a process? Couldn’t capable Muslim leaders have been elected to the Rajya Sabha and then inducted into the Cabinet? What is the point of the Modi government, which has not included Muslims despite such an opportunity, including Muslims in the team it sends abroad? Is it to fool the world? Is it to spread the message that its government is providing unity in plurality, social justice, equal representation in India and is taking everyone along? Isn’t this hypocrisy? Is there such a situation in the country? Isn’t it an eye-opening tactic to include Muslims in the team that goes abroad while following a policy of oppressing and marginalising the Muslim community, which has a huge population of 20 crores, in every way?
In fact, by including 10 Muslims in the team going abroad, the Modi government and the BJP have almost agreed to each other. That is, they have openly admitted that everything they have been promoting about Indian Muslims as traitors and Pakistani supporters is false. In particular, the BJP leaders and workers have never seen Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi as a patriot. It has always portrayed him as anti-Hindu and a traitor. Similarly, it has hardly accepted the Indian Union Muslim League as an Indian party. It has always linked the loyalty of this party with Pakistan and talked about it. It has repeatedly raised its green flag and spread misinformation on social media as the flag of Pakistan. It has also criticised the Congress for having a political alliance with the League. But the same Modi government has included E.T. Muhammad Bashir of the same Muslim League in the delegation going abroad.
In a way, for the BJP, Muslims are like a Cow. If you shun them and keep them away, you will get votes. If you include them, it will increase its prestige internationally. The Modi government has been ruling the country for the last 11 years. During the last Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Modi made 173 election speeches. Out of these, 110 speeches were Islamophobic, as reported by The Hindu on August 14, 2024. If this is the condition of a Prime Minister, what can be the condition of its supporters? In 17 States and Union Territories, the BJP is either in power or is in power as a partner party in the government. The representation of Muslims in these governments is as low as zero. BJP governments are displaying open arrogance by not giving Muslims the portfolios like Hajj and Waqf, which are related only to Muslims. Today, Kiren Rijiju, who is not a minority, is handling the minority portfolio in the Union Cabinet. Smriti Irani had handled the same portfolio in the previous government. So, what is the point of including only 10 Muslims in the delegations going abroad? How can we find honesty in this move of the Modi government, which has appointed Muslims to the portfolios related only to Muslims?
The truth is, BJP wants power. To achieve that, it must hate Muslims. It must always portray them as anti-Hindu, Pakistani, and traitors and use that as a topic of discussion. It must also unleash its supporters against Muslims and indirectly support attacks on and killings of Muslims.
However, internally, the BJP leadership knows that all this is false. It also knows that Muslims are patriots and not anti-Hindu. But it fears that if it says all this openly, its existence will be affected. That is why it is acting hypocritically, hating Muslims within the country and including Muslims internationally. The tragedy is that the grassroots workers of the BJP do not understand this hypocrisy. They are spreading hatred against Muslims openly on social media as well.
[The writer is Editor, Sanmarga Kannada Weekly & News Channel]
