Gadkari plans new-look BJP with Muslim cadre- Hindustan Times
- BJP president Nitin Gadkari plans to build a cadre of 10-20,000 odd Muslim BJP activists who will work to dispel the “wrong perceptions” many Muslims have about his party. Speaking to senior editors of Hindustan Times, Gadkari said: “The BJP’s tragedy is that of perception versus reality. We are not against Muslims. Neither is the RSS against Muslims.” Asked about the RSS micro-managing the BJP’s affairs, Gadkari was emphatic. “I’m nobody’s man,” he said. “Nor is the RSS trying to control me.”How did he reconcile this with the BJP’s avowed purpose of propagating Hindutva? “Hindutva does not mean that only those going to temples should stay in India,” he said. “The Supreme Court has defined Hindutva, and there is nothing in it that is anti-Muslim. Even following dharma means doing one’s duty according to one’s calling and has nothing to do with religion.”
