Abdul Salam urges IUML to join NDA

MALAPPURAM: M Abdul Salam, the lone Muslim candidate of the BJP who unsuccessfully contested from the Malappuram Lok Sabha constituency, on Thursday urged the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) to join the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to make use of the current political situation in the country.

“It is the right time to explore the opportunity. The IUML should join the NDA and create opportunity for sharing power with other parties at the Centre. Staying in power at the Centre will help the common people in Malappuram,” said Abdul Salam, former Calicut University vice-chancellor.

He also said Muslims should not stay out of the mainstream for a long time. “For how long will Muslims, who make up around 20 crore of the population in India, stay away from the mainstream politics? Five years, 10 years, or longer? This is an injustice to the people.

MPs are being elected, but the process offers no benefit to the common man. If an NRI issue arises, addressing it by being part of the government and seeking help from a BJP minister is entirely different. Therefore, gaining power at the Centre should be considered (by the IUML),” Salam said. He further said it is the propaganda of the opposition parties to say that Modi is against Muslims.

“They tried to make political gains using Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement in Rajasthan. Modi was only making a statement to expose the bad practices of the political opponent.

He also clarified later that he will not see Hindus and Muslims differently,” he said. Though Abdul Salam was expected to bag at least a lakh votes from Malappuram, he could secure only 85,361 votes.