Ahmedabad, Sept 18: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi greeted and hugged Muslims, many of whom admitted they had been asked to wear skull caps and burqas by their local BJP leaders, reports Indian Express.
“The men were asked to wear skull caps and women were told to wear burqas,” said Abdullahkhan Babi, who had come with his wife from Mehsana, one of the worst-hit districts during the 2002 Gujarat riots.
Dressed in a salwar-kameez, Babi's wife, Zaheda, added: “They asked the women to wear burqas but we don't, so there was no point in making it obvious. Even our men don't wear skull caps all the time.”The couple, who came with a group of BJP minority morcha members, said a local councillor had arranged their trip.
In its ad in an Urdu daily from Hyderabad, the Gujarat State Information Department, which Modi heads, even referred to his fast as “roza”.
“Aapko mera salaam, aapka shafiqana nek tamannaon ke bal par main aaj se sadbhavana mission ke sath roza upvaas ka aagaaz kar raha hoon,” said Modi in the ad. (My respects to you. Encouraged by your kind, compassionate good wishes, I have embarked on this sadbhavana mission and fast). Incidentally, the word “roza” refers to fasting as prescribed by the Quran for believing Muslims, the Urdu word for “upvaas (a fast)” is “faaqaa.”
“We have given advertisements in all leading regional dailies including Urdu newspapers as instructed by the state government,'' said V Thirupugazh, the Gujarat Information Director.
Mehbub Ali Mirza, the state BJP minority morcha president, said they had succeeded in ensuring Muslim presence from across the state.
“Every region is taking turns, today most of the people who shared the dais with Modi were from Saurashtra and Kutch. We did not specifically ask them to wear caps or burqas, but most of them did,'' he said.
Leaders from the Christian and Parsi communities also shared the stage with Modi and senior BJP leaders.Wearing wooden crosses around their necks, the Christians were conspicuous.“We are largely from the CNI church, the Catholics will also come tomorrow,'' said Damu Gamit, who had come from a village in Tapi from South Gujarat.
He added that they were asked to wear the cross. Many of the Christians were office-bearers from the BJP's minority morcha. “Our seniors instructed us to come here,” said Jagdish Gamit from Vyara.
Meanwhile, in Naroda Patia, a riot victim, Saleem Mohammed Husain Shaikh, said he planned to join a dharna by the rights group, Jan Sangharsh Manch, seeking justice for riot victims on Sunday. “Modi may be trying hard to reach out, but for us sadbhavana will come only with justice,” he said.
