Mangalore: Modi has done more for Muslim welfare than Congress: M K Chishty

Pics: Spoorthi Ullal
Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (DV)

Mangalore, Dec 26: Sufi M K Chishty, head priest (Gadinashin) of Dargah Sharif at Atodara, who is also the chairman of Gujarat Haj Committee and founder of Ummah international TV channel, on Thursday December 26 spoke on why Muslims should support BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and lashed out at the Congress-led UPA for not doing anything for the welfare of the Muslim community.

Delivering a talk on the topic 'Modi and Muslims' organized by NaMo Brigade here on Thursday December 26, he said, "So many people talk about Gujarat riots of 2002 but the Congress ruled this country for more than 50 years, during which there were 11,000 riots in which a number of innocent Muslims and Hindus lost their lives.

"In 1965 when Hithendra Desai was the chief minister, riots broke out in Gujarat which continued for several days. In 1985, when Madhav Singh Solanki was the chief minister riots took place for 5 months, and similarly in 1990 and 1992. When C D Patil was the home minister, in his own constituency riots had taken place, and though he was present, he could not bring the situation under control. At that time, no action was taken on those ministers, no one was questioned and not even an FIR was filed. Several communal riots have taken place during the Congress rule but the party is never questioned."

Praising Modi for his handling of Gujarat riots of 2002, he said, "During the Gujarat riots Modi was the chief minister and even though he did not have much experience in administration then, he stopped the riots within 4 days. Modi also asked for police help from Mumbai, Rajasthan and military forces to stop the riots. After 2002, there has not been a single curfew in Gujarat. Even at 2 am in the night Muslim women can walk freely in a Hindu-dominated area and Hindu women can do so in a Muslim area. Hindus and Muslims do business in partnership. As much 9 percent of the Muslims are in government jobs; Modi’s government has helped them (Muslims) in business and employment which has resulted in their development as a community. Which Congress-ruled state has done so much for Muslims?

"As stated in the Sachar Committee report, Congress has never provided opportunity for Muslims in the police department. But in Gujarat out of 47,000 police personnel, 5,000(10.6%) are Muslims. They are projecting Modi as anti-Muslim. In Gujarat Muslims have 75.3% literacy rate. Congress only provoked Muslims for vote but did nothing for their betterment. Congress fulfilled only one recommendation out of the 40 recommendations of Sachar Committee. Even the groundwork has not been done to fulfill the remaining recommendations," he said.  

"Muslims do not want appeasement, they want betterment, empowerment through education, and employment. Modi has done that in Gujarat," he declared, adding that there are 240 Muslim corporators in Gujarat who were elected from BJP, and out of them 120 are chairmen of different boards.

"The Gujarat government has provided good infrastructure like roads, hospitals, drinking water and medical centers. Gujarat government has provided compensation to all Gujarat riots victims and no one has been left out," he added.

Lambasting the Congress, he said, "Muslims voted for Congress and secular parties thinking the community would be uplifted, empowered and raised from poverty; but what has Congress done for the welfare of Muslims? Congress helped its leaders but the poor class remained where it was. The Sachar Committee report prepared by the UPA government itself speaks of the condition of Muslims. The report stated that 40% of poor Muslims lived in slums, 40% in prisons, and only 2% were in government jobs. Congress used divide and rule policy to create chasm between Hindus and Muslims; it appeased Muslims without given them proper education. Congress never stopped Muslims from going to prisons. In Congress-ruled states the condition of Muslims has become worse than that of Dalits. Who is responsible for this?"

"Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are trying to bring a new law on homosexuality which no religion, be it Hinduisim, Islam or Christianity can accept, and which will also destroy the culture of this land. They make provocative statements against Modi. I know Modi and his family very well, he has done nothing for his family; his brother and sister are still living in their old house," he said.
 
On what led him to join politics he said, “At the age of 22 I had to take the responsibility as a Sufi priest. When I contemplated on international affairs I saw that the Indian and Islamic cultures were getting corroded due to the impact of westernization. Due to this westernization our future generations will have to face problems. Though there are several Indians and Muslims in European nations their children do not even know their own mother tongue. This made me launch a television channel. To prevent westernization and spread of its culture, I needed to get into politics. I was far away from politics, but when I was introduced to international affairs, my interest in this nation made me get into politics. I joined politics during Narendra Modi's tenure."

He further said, "Nowhere in the Quran or in Islam is there anything against Hinduism. Culture from Hindustan flourished to the world. Hindustan is a peaceful nation. This land should be a superpower. In Iraq there are 35% destitute children, 30% of women who lost their husbands in the war waged by America. Osama Bin Laden was a product of America which wanted to compete with USSR. America raged war against Syria, Libya, Iran, and Iraq in which several innocent Muslims died. Muslims have no threat from the Hindu Samaj. Hindu Samaj wants peace, it is tolerant," he said.

During the interaction session, when he was asked to comment on Ishrat Jahan encounter, Chishty said, "Encounters are always fake, but in the case of Ishrat Jahan, the IB confirmed that it had records of Ishrat's links with Pakistan's ISI."

Chakravarthy Sulibele of NaMo Brigade welcomed.

Litterateur Mohammed Baddoor was present.