Kerala BJP launches ‘Muslim Outreach Programme’,says it’s about trust, not votes
Thiruvananthapuram: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Kerala has announced the launch of a “Muslim Outreach Programme,” which the party claims is intended to build trust with the Muslim community rather than secure votes ahead of the state’s upcoming polls.
State BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar, addressing a press conference in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday, said the initiative aims to “demolish the lies” that the party is anti-Muslim. The campaign will be led by senior BJP leader and state vice president Abdul Salam.
“This is not about politics or votes. It is about building trust and correcting the false narrative that has been spread for the past 20 to 25 years,” Chandrasekhar said, adding that the BJP’s vision under Prime Minister Narendra Modi is based on the Constitution and the principle of “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas.”
The party chief said BJP workers will visit Muslim households across Kerala to distribute leaflets outlining the party’s development agenda and urging people “not to be misled by the propaganda of the Congress and CPI(M).”
Chandrasekhar asserted that the Modi government has done more for the Muslim community in the past eleven years than any previous administration in Indian history and expressed confidence in replicating the same progress in Kerala.
“This is not about votes but about creating a ‘Vikasit Keralam’ where every person—irrespective of caste, community or religion—gets equal opportunities for development, jobs, and progress,” he said.
However, observers note that the announcement comes just ahead of the local body elections in the state, raising questions about the timing and political motives behind the outreach.
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Compromised PM didn't sign trade deal with US, but a bargain for Adani's release: Rahul
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of signing a trade deal with the US only to secure the "release" of billionaire businessman Gautam Adani.
"Compromised PM did not strike a trade deal, but a bargain for Adani's release," Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on X, after reports that the US has agreed to settle the lawsuit that accused Adani of hiding alleged bribery.
The US government has agreed to settle the lawsuit filed against Adani, who is accused of duping investors by concealing that his company's huge solar energy project in India was being facilitated by an alleged bribery scheme, according to court filings published Thursday.
Reacting to the reports, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said it was now clear why the PM agreed to the "hopelessly one-sided Indo-US trade deal that was really a steal by the US".
"And it is also clear why he abruptly halted Operation Sindoor on May 10, 2025, acting on President Trump's threats rather than on our national interest. Reportedly, the Trump Administration is about to drop all charges of corruption against Modani," he said on X.
"How much more compromised can the PM get?" Ramesh asked.
In the lawsuit filed in late 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission accused Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani, who is a director at the group's renewable energy unit Adani Green Energy Ltd, of agreeing to pay about USD 265 million in bribes to Indian government officials between approximately 2020 and 2024 to obtain lucrative solar energy supply contracts on terms that expected to yield USD 2 billion of profit over 20 years.
It was alleged in the lawsuit that Adani Group raised USD 2 billion in loans and bonds, including from US firms, on the backs of false and misleading statements related to the firm's anti-bribery practices and policies.
The ports-to-energy conglomerate had denied the allegations.
