Muslim BJP Minority-Wing Leader Dismisses Notion of Bias & Prejudice in Party

Dr. Gulrez Sheikh is national in-charge of the social media and IT cell of the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) minority wing and is also an author and geopolitical expert. He has served as spokesperson for India's governing party in the past.

BJP politician and prominent face of its Minority Morcha, Gulrez Sheikh, has urged the country's largest minority, Muslims, to claim their place in the federally governing party.

In an interview with Sputnik, Sheikh spoke about how the welfare schemes of the Narendra Modi government have uplifted Muslims, why a percentage of Muslim voters now cast their votes in favor of the party, and the reasons behind the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and BJP's outreach programs for the community. He also admits never facing discrimination in the BJP.

Sputnik: How do you view the BJP and RSS' recent outreach towards Muslims in India? What is the primary aim behind this?

Gulrez Sheikh: This is not the first time the RSS is having an outreach to Muslims. The procedure of dialogue dates back to the days of Madhav Sadashivrao Golwalkar, the second chief of the RSS. It gained momentum during the tenure of the third chairman of the organization, Madhukar Dattatraya Deora. Later on, K.S. Sudarshan (fifth chief of the RSS) appointed Indresh Kumar to look into the outreach programs for Muslims.

Outreach with Muslims, mixing with Muslims, and going to places of Muslims as well as meeting Muslim intellectuals is not new for the RSS. But there are some incidences that media highlights, while there are others which it [choses to] subside.

The RSS constantly engages with Muslims through an organization called the Muslim Jagran Manch, headed by Indresh Kumar. There's no doubt that there's a great outreach of the RSS with the Muslim community.

Even if one looks at the BJP, I say that Muslims must claim their place in the party. When the BJP was founded in 1980, it had Atal Bihari Vajpayee and three general secretaries, and out of those three general secretaries, one was Sikander Bakht, making him the founding general secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

So, I say out of those four people, 25 percent stakes of the BJP belong to Muslims and that's why it's high time we must claim it and we are claiming it.

Sputnik: Has there been a response from the Muslim community to the government's welfare programs?

Gulrez Sheikh: There is no differentiation when we talk about these schemes and all the schemes are made for Indian citizens irrespective of religion or caste or their native place. The only criterion is they must be Indian citizens.

All of them are enjoying the fruits of these schemes and particularly, if I have to talk about Muslims, they are the most backward. The social welfare schemes of the Narendra Modi government are for poor people, and who form the bulk of the poor? Muslims. That's why a big share of these schemes is going to this community and they are getting the benefit of it.

But when you look at states ruled by the BJP and non-BJP-ruled states, you will find the percentage of employment, particularly in the government sector of Muslims is higher in the BJP-ruled states in comparison to the non-BJP-ruled states.

Sputnik: Do Muslims now see the BJP as an alternative to the Congress or any other opposition party? There has always been a perception that it is an organization for Hindus. What do you have to say about this?

Gulrez Sheikh: In the last general elections, around 8 to 10 percent of Muslims voted for the BJP, and this time, I am expecting this number to be 20 percent.

Even if you look at the number of Muslims that voted for the Bharatiya Janata Party in the state of Uttar Pradesh earlier this year, it was much higher than ever before. So the outreach of the Modi government, particularly in terms of schemes and social upliftment has worked and the community is coming closer to the BJP.

Sputnik: You have been associated with the BJP for nearly a decade now. Have you experienced any kind of discrimination based on religion from fellow politicians?

Gulrez Sheikh: I am a person with an academic background and my party values me for that. My progress in the BJP can be understood from the fact that I am from the very small town of Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh and just after 15 years, I am a national office bearer of the party. Can you think if the party had discriminated on the basis of religion, a person like me would be sitting in the BJP's national headquarters in Delhi?

Sputnik: Like Ayodhya, the Gyanvapi case in Varanasi has grabbed headlines. Do you think such cases could affect the harmony between Hindus and Muslims?

Gulrez Sheikh: India has a long history of communal harmony. Hindu-Muslim communal harmony is in the DNA of all of us, and I believe nothing can hamper it, nothing can break it.

Even during the Ayodhya Judgment (a case related to Lord Ram Temple and Babri Mosque land dispute) there were rumors that there will be riots, and trains and buses will be burnt. But not a single drop of blood fell on the ground, because Indians respect their judiciary.

The views expressed in this article are those of the expert and do not necessarily reflect the position of Sputnik.