Muslim perception of Modi slowly changing. Has Modi hurt any… why should they fear him: BJP LS candidate Abdul Salam

Former vice-chancellor of Calicut University M Abdul Salam is the lone Muslim face among about 290 BJP candidates that the party has announced so far for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The BJP’s minority morcha national vice-president, Salam has been fielded from Kerala’s Muslim-dominated Malappuram seat, which has been a traditional stronghold of Congress ally IUML. In an interview with The Indian Express, Salam speaks on a range of issues including the CAA row, Hindutva and the Muslim community’s approach towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Excerpts:

* The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA)’s implementation ahead of the Lok Sabha polls has turned into a major campaign issue in Kerala. What is your take?

We are facing the anti-CAA campaigns of Congress and CPI(M). They have depicted this issue as discriminatory towards Muslims only to win community’s votes. A large number of people go by the version given by pseudo intellectuals. CAA is meant to do justice to the minority people who were affected by Partition. Muslims are not among the persecuted minorities in Pakistan and Bangladesh. They are not minorities in those countries and do not face any persecution there. The CAA is a promise to the persecuted minorities in Pakistan at the time of Partition. Even after seven decades, successive governments in the country could not deliver that promise. If it is not done even now, it would be a grave injustice to the persecuted minorities. Muslims should understand why they were dropped from the list of such migrants eligible for citizenship.

* Are CAA and other such issues becoming a hurdle in winning over Muslims for the BJP?

It is a hurdle to get closer to the community. Congress and CPI(M) have kept the community tied up