JODHPUR: When BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi raised the issue of the Hindu families migrated from Pakistan following the socio-religious persecution in his address in Pachpadara (Barmer) on Saturday, it dealt a shot in the arm of this distraught lot, who have been struggling hard for recognition in India.
Modi in his address had said “these people of my community coming here are not being taken care of at all whereas the Bangladeshi nationals are being welcomed and helped in violation of all the rules on account of vote bank politics”.
Modi had assured that they are the responsibility of the government at the Centre and that BJP will do everything possible to get them justice and alleviate their woes. “They are compelled for displacement due to injustice in Pakistan and should be treated equally here,” he said.
The mentioning of the issue in such an elaborate and specific manner has infused fresh hope in the migrant population. “It is for the first time that any national party made a mention of the plight of Pakistani Hindu migrants and expressed commitment to take up the issue,” said Hindu Singh Sodha, president of the Seemant Lok Sangthan, an organization fighting for migrants’ rights.
He said that not only this, BJP is the only national party which has also incorporated the issue in its manifesto, which reads “India shall remain a natural home for persecuted Hindus and they shall be welcome to seek refuge here”.
The raising of the issue ahead of the election is, however, being seen as an attempt to win the votes of this migrated community. Going by the statistics, there are about 1.50 lakh voters of this community in different districts of Rajasthan, predominantly in Barmer, Jaisalmer, Bikaner and Jodhpur. “These votes, which are about 70,000-75,000 in Barmer constituency alone, matter a lot for a political party and cannot be overlooked,” said a political analyst.
Though, Sodha refused to comment on it but did not rule out the benefit of this development to the BJP, which a volunteer of the organization Prem Chand readily admitted. “We will definitely support the BJP,” he said.
But even in the national scenario, these migrants are spread in states like Gujarat (70,000), MP (25,000) and Delhi (15,000) besides a few in Punjab, Haryana, etc., with about 25,000 migrants in queue for citizenship, the benefit of this message from the address of Modi will definitely accrue to BJP.
According to Sodha, their long-pending demands are first, a refugee status for them and second, simplification of citizenship rules and laws for them. “We have hit every possible door with these demands including both Congress and BJP, but we are happy that the BJP not only incorporated the issue in its manifesto but also expressed its commitment for resolution publically for the first time,” he said.
Jodhpur: When BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi raised the issue of the Hindu families migrated from Pakistan following the socio-religious persecution in his address in Pachpadara (Barmer) on Saturday, it dealt a shot in the arm of this distraught lot, who have been struggling hard for recognition in India.
Modi in his address had said “these people of my community coming here are not being taken care of at all whereas the Bangladeshi nationals are being welcomed and helped in violation of all the rules on account of vote bank politics”.
Modi had assured that they are the responsibility of the government at the center and that the BJP will do everything possible to get them justice and alleviate their woes. “They are compelled for displacement due to injustice in Pakistan and should be treated equally here”, he said.
The mentioning of the issue in such an elaborate and specific manner has infused fresh hopes in this migrated lot. “It was for the first time that any national party made a mentioning of the plight of the Pakistani Hindu migrants and expressed commitment to take up the issue”, said Hindu Singh Sodha, President of the Seemant Lok Sangthan, an organization fighting for their rights.
He said that not only this, but the BJP is the only national party, which has also incorporated the issue in its manifesto, which reads “India shall remain a natural home for persecuted Hindus and they shall be welcome to seek refuge here”.
The raising of the issue ahead of the election is, however, being seen as an attempt to win the votes of this migrated community. Going by the statistics, there are about 1.50 lac voters of this migrated Hindu community in different districts of Rajasthan, predominantly in Barmer, Jaisalmer, Bikaner and Jodhpur. “These votes, which are about 70-75000 in Barmer constituency alone, matters a lot for a political party and cannot be over looked”, said a political analyst.
Though, Sodha refused to comment on it but did not rule out the benefit of this development to the BJP, which a volunteer of the organization Prem Chand readily admitted. “We will definitely support the BJP”, he said.
But even on national scenario, these migrants are spread in states like Gujarat (70000), MP (25000) and Delhi (15000) besides few in Punjab, Haryana etc. with about 25000 in queue for citizenship, the benefit of this message from the address of Modi will definitely accrue to BJP.
According to Sodha, their long pending demands are first, a refugee status for them and second, simplification of citizenship rules and laws for them. “We have hit every possible door with these demands including both Congress and BJP, but we are happy that, the BJP, not only incorporated the issue in its manifesto but also expressed its commitment for resolution publically for the first time”, he said.