Syed Ahmed Bukhari

NEW DELHI: In a surprising development, the imam of Delhi’s Jama Masjid, Syed Ahmed Bukhari, on Friday said he has not invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his son’s anointment as the next chief cleric.

Bukhari, however, said he has invited Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, and also four Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, including two ministers.

“We have invited the prime minister of Pakistan as we have had relations with him since my father’s time, unlike with Modi, whom we have not invited,” Bukhari said.

The anointment of Bukhari’s son, 19-year-old Shaban, will take place on Nov. 22. The guests have been invited for a special dinner on Nov. 29. “Modi has not done anything for Indian Muslims even after coming to power. Indian Muslims have not forgiven him for the 2002 Gujarat riots,” Bukhari said, referring to the 2002 communal clashes in Gujarat in which around 2,000 Muslims were butchered by armed Hindu mobs.

“Modi has not even apologized (for the riots) and reached out to the Muslims,” he added. “We have also invited Congress President Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi along with Vice President Hamid Ansari,” Bukhari added.

 
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