The BJP is set to create ripples in the Muslim community with plans to get a considerable section of the community from Mewat in Haryana to seek a ban on cow slaughter throughout the country.
The party youth wing, the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), has organised a meeting of Muslim youths and intellectuals in Mewat on September 25 when a resolution is expected to be passed, demanding the ban.
The meeting is considered significant since most Tabligh leaders in the country hail from Mewat. The Tablighs are religious preachers dedicated to the task of spreading Islam.
After the meeting, a delegation of Muslim youth from Mewat would meet President KR Narayanan and submit the resolution.
Rajasthan chief minister Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, Haryana chief minister Bansi Lal, and senior BJP leader Sikander Bakht are expected to attend the meeting, which would mark the beginning of a new chapter in the partys relationship with Muslims, BJYM secretary Syed Shahnawaz Hussain told Business Standard.
Nearly 10,000 Muslims were expected to attend the meeting, Hussain claimed, and said the meeting had been named the All India Mulsim Youth Conference for ban on cow slaughter. Prominent Muslim leaders there have expressed a desire to demand such a ban, he claimed.
The fraternal Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) had earlier launched a movement in Mewat to impose such a ban but had met with stiff resistance. Leaders of the `Sangh parivar are now keeping their fingers crossed over the September 25 meeting.
Senior VHP leaders were said to have initially expressed resentment at BJYM chief Uma Bhartis efforts to woo the Muslims, but had been persuaded by her to agree to the plans in Mewat. She is also said to enjoy the RSS support for this venture as well as that of BJP president LK Advani. Hussai said: Islam does not champion cow slaughter. Muslims have a golden opportunity to demonstrate that they do not wish to hurt Hindu sentiments. This would open avenues for better understanding between the two communities.
According to him, there was a growing awareness among the Muslim youth that there would be tremendous political opportunity for them in the BJP, which is the largest parliamentary party.
