Guest guest Posted December 5, 2000 Report Share Posted December 5, 2000 >OFBJP Admin <BJP-News >vaidika1008 >[bJP News]: For BJP all religions are equal: Advani >Sun, 3 Dec 2000 17:13:06 -0500 > >Title: For BJP all religions are equal: Advani >Author: Deepak Sharma/Ajmer >Publication: The Pioneer >Dec. 4, 2000 > > The story of the day in Ajmer was not Union Home >Minister L K Advani's visit to the Pushkar temples. Rather, it was his > surprise appearance at one of the holiest of Muslim >shrines --- the Dargah of Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti. > > Such was the enthusiasm generated among the local >population that inspite of the rigours of the Ramzan fast, a huge > number of Muslims thronged the Dargah on Sunday >afternoon, not only to offer prayers but also to see and hear what Mr > Advani had to say. > > "Together we can make this country great. Let us be >good human beings first. It does not matter if one believes in Ishwar > or Allah," Mr Advani said in an emotional speech on >the occasion. > > Reciprocating his feelings, the principle Khadim of >the Dargah, Syed Sarwar Chisti --- who incidentally is a direct > descendant of the Khwaja --- announced from the >mike, "We welcome Janab L K Advani's visit to this holy place. It is a > sincere gesture and, Inshallah, it will bring the >two communities of the country together." > > Syed Chisti further announced, "Mr Advani's homage >to Hazrat Khwaja's shrine has set a new tone. We hope this step will > prove earnest and sincere." > > Later, when a local journalist asked Mr Advani >whether his visit to the darga was part of a larger image changing >exercise, > the Home Minister replied, "My perceptions have >always been clear. What I have said 25 years ago, I still stick to." > > Elaborating on these "perceptions" later on, Mr >Advani said, "I believe in equality. My party's view is that all citizens >are > equal. We sternly believe in Sarva Panth Sambhav. >But under the impact of Marxism, the definition of secularism has > always tended to be distorted." > > In his address, Mr Advani expressed joy that after >so many years, he had got an opportunity to visit Ajmer. > > "It's the city where my cabinet colleague Jaswant >Singh began his education in the prestigious Mayo College. On Mr > Singh's request, I accepted the offer to attend the >annual function of the college." > > Asked why he chose to visit the dargah, Mr Advani >said, "Ajmer aaker mera farz tha ki itni pak saaf jageh par aana." > > Earlier on the day, he offered prayers at a few >historical temples encircling the Pushkar lake. >---- > http://www.ofbjp.org >---- >A worldwide community of BJP's friends, supporters and activists: >Friends of the BJP - Worldwide: http://www.ofbjp.org/fob >featuring Monthly Chat: Second Saturday of every month, >10 AM Eastern US time (calculate local time accordingly) >---- > > ______________________________\ _____ Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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