Ahmedabad: Outcry over Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s refusal to wear a skull cap continues to grow louder. Saiyad Imam Shahi Saiyad, who offered Modi the cap during the Sadbhavna Mission, said on Wednesday that the Gujarat Chief Minister can now forget about becoming India’s Prime Minister.In an exclusive interview to Divya Bhaskar, Imam Shahi Saiyad said that Modi by refusing to wear the skull cap has squashed his own ambition of leading the country.
“He didn’t refuse the skull cap, he has snubbed his fate. Now he can never become the Prime Minister. If Modi had taken the skull cap as a token from all communities of the world, he too would have been accepted universally. But Modi thought the skull cap is from the Muslims. This shows what Modi thinks of Muslims,” Imam Shahi Saiyad said.
Though he did not take Modi’s move as a personal insult, the sufi saint criticised Modi for his alleged outlook.“I am a sufi saint. I do not take this as an insult. I am not even protesting Modi’s move. He has insulted himself,” Imam Shahi Saiyad said.
“I went there to show my love and respect for Modi. But it seems he sees Gujarat as a separate part of India,” he added.
The sufi saint revealed that he was also a victim during the Godhra riots in 2002. He said that his ashram in Gujarat’s Nanad district was attacked during the tumultuous time. The ashram was put on fire by rioters. However, he managed to escape.