In its election promise to the minorities, BJP today said it will ensure “secure” environment for them and provide discrimination-free opportunities, including in education and jobs, while alleging that the UPA government has deprived them of these.
The party, in an attempt to reach out to the muslims, vowed to modernise Madrassa education under a new national programme and empower the Waqf Boards in consultation with the religious leaders.
“We will ensure peaceful and secure environment where there is no place for either perpetrators and exploiters of fear,” said the BJP manifesto released by its Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi along with other senior leaders here.
“We will ensure that the young and the girl child in particular get education and jobs without discrimination,” it said, adding empowerment will also made through entrepreneurial opportunities.
The manifesto said it was unfortunate that even after several decades of independence, “a large section of the minority and especially the muslim community, continues to be stymied in poverty“.
BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi, who headed the committee that prepared the manifesto, said the party had heard from the muslims that they remained deprived under the UPA rule.
“They (the minorities) say that they only hear about the programmes on radio and TV but they see nothing on the ground,” Joshi said, while contending that even the PM’s 15-point programme for uplift of minorities has not yielded the desired results.
“BJP is committed to the preservation of the rich culture and heritage of India’s minority communities, alongside their social and economic empowerment,” it said.