Nagpur, April 6 The claim that the BJP is against Muslims and other minorities is completely false, and the party believes in the Indian tradition and belief of world welfare, Union minister Nitin Gadkari said on Monday.
Addressing party workers here, Gadkari said the BJP is neither casteist nor communal, adding that opponents have tried to defame it for the past several decades.
"The BJP is not against any religion. Our party believes that people may have different ways of worship, and that every person has a right to follow his or her religion. Despite having different ways of worship, we are all Indians. Our culture, history, and heritage are one," he asserted.
He said misinformation was spread that the BJP was a party that belonged to a certain caste, and it was linked to those who killed Mahatma Gandhi.
Gadkari recalled an interview given by former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to scriptwriter-poet Javed Akhtar in which the Bharat Ratna awardee was asked if secularism was in danger if the BJP came to power in India.
"Vajpayee replied that India is secular and will always remain secular. He said it is so not because of the BJP-RSS but because of the culture, history, and inclusiveness of the majority Hindu community," Gadkari told the gathering.
"Rashtriyatva, Bhartiyatva is Hindutva. Hindu is not caste, sect, or religion. It is a way of life, which is inclusive. The real meaning of secularism is 'sarvadharma sambhav', which is that all religions and ideologies should be respected. The allegation that the BJP is against Muslims or other minorities is completely false. The BJP believes in the Indian tradition and belief of world welfare," Gadkari said.
The BJP works for the welfare of the country and seeks clean water, good roads, employment, freedom from hunger, and a good standard of living for citizens, the Union minister said.
"The BJP has worked a lot since its inception and has pitched for building leadership from workers as part of 'karyakarta se netritva' to make India a superpower. A post is temporary and one should be humble while occupying it. It can go anytime but the post of a BJP karyakarta is permanent," he added.
Gadkari also recalled his meeting as Union shipping minister with former Supreme Leader of Iran, late Ayatollah Khamenei, while work on the Chabahar Port was underway in that nation.
During a conversation, Khamenei asked him the origin of the Persian language, Gadkari said.
When he replied that he did not know, it was Khamenei who said that Persian originated from Sanskrit, Gadkari added.
Khamenei also told him that his ancestors were from a village near Lucknow, the senior BJP leader added.