NDA meets Kalam on Muslim survey

The NDA delegation was led by leader of the opposition L K Advani and NDA Convenor George Fernandes. "It is a very serious issue. Nobody has ever thought of holding this kind of an exercise which this government has done," Advani said.

He said he wondered whether the Muslim survey finally aimed at faith-based recruitments and postings in the armed forces. The NDA called the government's exercise a "shameless attempt to woo the communal vote."

In support of his charges of sectarian politics against the Congress Advani cited examples of the Aligarh Muslim University being given minority institution designation, amendment in the Foreigners Act and religious reservations in Andhra Pradesh institutions.

"For a government committee to start inquiring into religious denominations of the personnel of the armed forces and further probing the kind of postings being given to each one of them is fraught with dangerous consequences," the NDA said in its memorandum to the president.

On Naveen Chawla, the NDA alleged that Chawla had prospered due to his proximity with the Gandhi family and that this was the reason behind in him receiving lakhs of rupees from the MPLAD funds of various Congress leaders to fund two trusts run by his family.

"This creates a reasonable apprehension in the minds of the people whether Chawla will be able to conduct himself with the impartiality and objectivity that is required from an election commissioner," said the NDA memorandum.

The government on its part had clarified yesterday that the questionnaire sent to the armed forces asking about muslims in the ranks of the armed forces was being done under a committee headed by former Chief Justice Rajendra Sachar and was part of a larger study on the social, economic and political status of muslims in India.

The government had clarified that this was being done to better inform policy on these matters.