Ranchi: The Atal Bihari Vajpayee Himayat Committee, a body represented by 13 different Muslim institutions, today (April 17, 2004) appealed to the minority community to vote for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

''Though the Muslims have a different ideology, they all have accepted Vajpayee's leadership in the interest of the country,'' its chairman Tanvir Ahmed, who is also the chairman of the Central Haj Committee, said.

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Addressing a press conference, K T Ahmed, the national convener of the newly formed committee, rejected the views of a section of the minority community that the BJP-led coalition Government would be a threat to the Muslim community.

Vajpayee's rule in last six years was, in fact, better than the previous regimes, he said.

''The NDA Government has undertaken many steps like the development of Urdu language and giving more teeth to the Minority Commission besides development of education and growth in employment and economy for the betterment of the minority groups,'' he said.

Asked by reporters about their views on the common civil code, he said that as per the NDA's agenda there was a need for a national consensus on the issue.

On Gujarat incident, he said it was unfortunate and condemned by all. This should not be made an issue as the minority communities had been affected during non-BJP regime too, he said.