Economic, social development of Muslims more important than voting rights: Sanjay Raut

After his outrageous and controversial demand for Muslims to be disenfranchised, Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut claimed that the decision will expose "secular" leaders who pander to Muslims only for their votes. Speaking to dna's Dhaval Kulkarni, Raut, who is also the executive editor of the Shiv Sena's newspaper 'Saamna', hinted that pro-Hindutva parties were hand-in-glove with hardline Muslim organisations for reaping mutual political benefits through communal polarisation. He said that instead of voting rights, social and economic development was more important for Muslims.

You have alleged that pro-Hindutva parties are fanning the rise of Muslim politicians and parties to splinter the minority vote and create communal polarisation. Please comment.
This must be criticised by all. That is why (late Shiv Sena chief) Balasaheb (Thackeray) had said that since Muslims were being used as vote banks by Muslim leaders and other political parties which call themselves secular, Muslims must be divested of their voting rights for some time.

Rather than voting rights, economic and social development is important for Muslims; this will help to bring them into the mainstream. Many politicians don't want that. These politicians say they are different from others, but they, too, use Muslims as pawns.

Muslims are being blackmailed for vote banks, that is why there are talks about them being 15 crore strong. Leaders from Hyderabad are coming to Mumbai and making incendiary speeches, but after the polls they will not go to Behrampada (in Bandra East) to take people out of the rot they find themselves in. Hence, Balasaheb said that once the voting rights of Muslims are taken away, the real faces of these leaders will be exposed, as Muslims will be of no use to them then.

But your statement can be interpreted to mean that there is a tacit understanding between Hindutva parties like the BJP and Muslim organisations like the AIMIM.
You are free to draw your own conclusions. All use Muslims just as vote banks. This is harmful for the country, like Barrister Jinnah who created Pakistan. We all will be responsible for it.

How, then, are Muslims to progress?
There must be social and economic development for Muslims. They must get a good life, jobs, education, and go beyond religious fundamentalism. If leaders like the Owaisis care about the Muslims, then they must try to mainstream them and call for a uniform civil code and a ban on the burqa. They must remove the notion that Muslims are different from the rest of the country. They must sing Vande Mataram and say that India is our motherland. Muslims will progress if they come out of a frame of mind which wants to threaten and blackmail on the basis of a 15 crore-strong population.

Though you talk about emancipating Muslims, your party opposed the short-lived 5% quota for the community in Maharashtra.
Balasaheb opposed reservations given on grounds of caste and religion. Muslims who are poor and backward must get reservations and help. No one has the right to deny them quotas on economic grounds.