PM counters BJP: Commitment to equity not appeasement

On December 9, at the National Development Council NDC and again at a Dalit-Muslim conference on December 27, last year, the Prime Minister had stated the necessity for equitable access in development for Muslims. Singh8217;s statement 8212; that backward communities should have the first claim on the nation8217;s resources 8212; resulted in an outcry from the BJP that it was Muslim appeasement.

Refusing to yield, the Prime Minister took up the Muslim equity question yet again on Tuesday at a function commemorating the 110th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose here. He quoted Bose to obliquely target the BJP. 8220;The vision of Netaji has immense relevance for the 21st Century and for our fight against the forces of communalism, terrorism and extremism,8221; Singh said.

The Prime Minister recalled that Bose too believed that all minority communities should be allowed their due space in governmental affairs. 8220;As the President of the Indian National Congress INC in 1938, he Bose articulated a vision that is of abiding relevance. Netaji8217;s view that all minorities communities be allowed their due space in cultural and as well as governmental affairs testified to his humanism and commitment to egalitarian values,8221; he said.

Singh also recounted that both Bose and Mahatma Gandhi were deeply committed to the Hindu-Muslim unity and amity. 8220;They were both deeply spiritual men, but equally secular. They understood that India8217;s great contribution to humankind is the idea of sarva dharma sambhava,8221; the Prime Minister said.

He recalled that Bose had advocated taking special measures for the minorities and other disadvantaged sections of society. The Prime Minister also spoke about 8220;our fight8221; against 8220;forces of communalism8221; as he hailed Bose as one of the tallest leaders of the country8217;s freedom movement.

He also cited a quote by Mahatma Gandhi in which, the Father of the Nation praised Bose for his abilities to 8220;infuse the spirit of unity amongst his men so that they could rise above all religions and provincial barriers and shed together their blood for common cause8221;.

Manmohan Singh maintained that both Mahatma Gandhi and Subhas Chandra Bose shared a common vision of a free India despite differences between them over methods to achieve the objective. 8220;He Bose wanted to build modern India as much on the firm base of industrialisation and science and technology as on our ancient culture and civilisation,8221; Singh recalled.

Bose, the Prime Minister said, united Indians of all faiths, all communities and languages and gave shape to the idea of a modern and resurgent India.