Shiv Sena praises Modi for not wearing skull-cap

Pune, Sept 21: Shiv Sena today (Sept 21) hailed Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi for protecting himself from ''topi-kand'' (cap-scam) by refusing to don an ''Imami cap'' offered by a Muslim clergy during his three-day ''Sadbhavana Mission'' fast.

"One Imam came on the podium and offered Modi a (skull) cap, but Modi refused to wear it. He deserves kudos for preventing this ''topi-kand'' in front of cameras," the party mouthpiece ''Saamna'' said in an editorial, which derided Congress leaders for adopting a policy of appeasement of minority community.

It said, there was no need to prove secular credentials by going overboard to appease Muslims in the country and criticised Congress leaders for donning skull caps during Iftar parties.

"If Modi sticks to this line, his Delhi bound horse can race along the Rajpath in Delhi," the paper commented.

However, even though the party is praising the Gujarat chief minister for the cap episode, just two days ago, it had criticised him for trying to project a secular image of himself. The party had said that the Modi shot to power by the Hindu vote bank and he should not give them "poison of secularism" in his battle for "gaddi" in Delhi.

The Shiv Sena patriarch, BJP's oldest ally, had also asked Modi not to forget that after Maharashtra, Gujarat was the laboratory of Hinduism and had said whatever he was today, it was because of Hindu vote bank.

Modi was on a three-day fast in Gujarat capital for "peace, unity and communal harmony". The fast ended on Monday.

PTI