New Delhi: Congress member Rajeev Shukla
on Tuesday echoed the views of BJP leader L K Advani as he
contended that Pakistan founder M A Jinnah was never against
the minorities and did not favour 'one-community' nation.
Participating in a debate in the Rajya Sabha on Working
of the Minority Affairs Ministry, Shukla said that rejection
of minorities in Pakistan, in contrast to the thinking of
Jinnah, was the main reason behind the country's backwardness.
"Why is Pakistan wounded today? The country is now called
a 'tinderbox'... Because, it failed to consider its minorities
as a national asset and chose only one community. This,
however, was not Jinnah's thinking," he said.
This statement reflected the sentiments expressed by
Advani when he visited Pakistan in 2005. The BJP leader was
castigated within his own party for praising Jinnah and even
had to quit as BJP President under pressure from RSS.
Shukla underscored the need for minorities welfare in
India and said, "Unless and until we consider minorities as
national asset, we will not understand their contribution."
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, March 15, 2011, 21:07