BJP reaches out to Muslim voters, Sushma hints at early Lok Sabha polls

Zee Media Bureau New Delhi: Hinting at the possibility of early General Elections, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj said on Monday that "BJP`s Mission 2014 can also be mission 2013 looking at the state of this government". Swaraj was addressing a national executive meet of BJP`s Mahila Morcha here. "We couldn`t be part of the freedom struggle, we were born after 1947, but now be part of the freedom from Congress battle," she said, wearing a saffron turban and with a large poster of roaring lions in the background. According to the senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader, people of the country were waiting to throw out the UPA government as they were fed up with its all-round failure. Swaraj said that considering the situation in the nation, the UPA government will not be able to survive for another term. Do you think the government can survive?" she asked. On the BJP`s poll strategy, Swaraj said, "In the upcoming Assembly elections, we have to snatch states from the Congress and defend ours. This is our aim." She also said that the BJP was the only viable alternative to the Congress. Further, emphasising on the safety issues of women in India, Swaraj said, "Indian women have reached to space and have achieved so much but it`s a shame that women are not safe here." "We have a four point programme for women when we come to power. It`s our declaration and mission," Swaraj said. She added further, "There is no point in talking about agriculture growth, GDP figures and so on. There is no need to tell the women about it. You talk to them about their pain... When you reach out to a woman from a slum, or a woman from an affluent section, talk to them about their specific concerns." In a bid to reach out to Muslims, BJP today insisted that it is not against the community and accused the Congress of creating a fear psychosis in the minds of the minorities about the party coming to power. Speaking at the same event, former BJP president Nitin Gadkari alleged that Congress is creating a fear psychosis in the minds of the Muslims that if BJP is voted to power it will do grave injustice to them. "They are giving this wrong impression for votebank politics... We follow a policy of neither appeasement nor discrimination. BJP is not against Muslims but against terrorism," he said. He alleged that Congress-led UPA is indulging in "all-round loot" of the country and "the nation is on the verge of bankruptcy and soon we may have to pledge our gold." BJP plans to appoint two women workers at each booth across the country during the Lok Sabha elections. With PTI inputs