Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) secretary general Abdul Khaliq has condemned the recent statements of Jama Masjid’s Shahi Imam Syed Ahmed Bukhari on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Mr. Bukhari has not invited Mr. Modi for a dinner to commemorate the anointment of his son Shaban as Delhi’s chief cleric. The Imam claimed that Indian Muslims had not forgiven Mr. Modi for the 2002 pogrom in Gujarat.
Mr. Khaliq said: “The latest provocative statements of Imam Bukhari have once again exposed him as a mindless and cynical self-proclaimed Muslim leader, who has played a big and damaging role in alienating the Muslims from the mainstream.”
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The LJP is part of the ruling National Democratic Alliance at the Centre. Mr. Bukhari has invited Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, and Health Minister Harsh Vardhan for the dinner on November 29.
The statements were also condemned by India Islamic Cultural Centre president Sirajuddin Qureshi, who said that by inviting the Pakistan Prime Minister , Mr. Bukhari had created confusion about the Muslims in the country.
“This gives a negative image to the whole community. The current tense relationship between the two countries does not offer a congenial atmosphere for inviting Mr. Sharif,” he said in a statement.
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