India's BJP woos Muslim vote

The leader of India's right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party BJP, LK Advani, has sought to assure the Muslim community that his party will not deviate from secularism.

Speaking to a conference of the BJP's allies, the AIDMK All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Khazagam in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu, Mr Advani called on the Muslim community to come forward and discuss their problems with his party.

He said Muslims in states governed by the BJP had not encountered any problems and Muslims had nothing to fear from the BJP.Correspondents say Mr Advani is distancing his party from Hindu fundamentalism, and is trying to broaden the BJP's image among India's non-Hindu population.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service