New Delhi/Ahmedabad: Days after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) presented former Delhi Metro chief E Sreedharan as its leader and published his photograph in the party's election hoardings in Delhi, the saffron brigade has now allegedly depicted former Maharashtra Police Inspecter General SM Mushrif and Nai Duniya Editor Shahid Siddiqui in an advertisement published in an English daily endorsing its prime ministerial candidate and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi without taking his permission.
The quarter-page promotional advertisement appeared in the February 27 edition of The Indian Express carries a photograph of Mushrif who, as per the ad, says, "The most safe place for Muslims today is Gujarat. I dealt with several states, but no chief minister is as good, as strong and as determined as Modi. Now, even Muslims realize that Modi is good for them."
The advertisement was allegedly released by the BJP office in Gujarat's Vapi district.
Mushrif has denied any endorsement for Modi and said he has sent a notice to the party for using his name in the party's prime ministerial candidate's promotional advertisement in the newspaper.
"The statement has been wrongly attributed to me. The BJP did not take permission from me for using my name in the ad. I have just emailed a notice to the party," the former police officer told a news portal, IndiaTomorrow.
Mushrif said that he had written an article in the English fortnightly wherein he had said that Gujarat has become a safer place after the state government banned activities of the Intelligence Bureau. "It was no way an endorsement for Modi," he said.
The advertisement also carries alleged statement of former Samajwadi Party leader and Nai Duniya Editor Shahid Siddiqi. It quotes Siddiqui as saying, "Under Congress Raj, the Muslims have suffered for 64 years in this country and lived like a second class citizens. What happened in Meerut and Bhagalpur? People were killed in cold blood but no action was taken. In the Mumbai riots of 1993, not even a single action was taken. Those who were perpetrators are now secular because they are now in Congress party. It is only in Modi's Gujarat that the perpetrators are behind the bars. In the past 12 years, there is not a single riot in Gujarat."
Talking to Daily Bhaskar, Siddiqui also said no one sought permission to publish his statements in the advertisement. "My statement has been lifted from one of my interviews and has been quoted in the ad out of context. In the statement, I have criticised the Congress more than the BJP. Yes, it is a fact that the perpetrators of the Gujarat riots are now behind the bars but Modi cannot be credited for this," he said.
However, Vapi BJP President Mitesh Desai has denied that the ad was released by the party. "We have not given such an advertisement to the daily. If any leader has given the ad, the party is not responsible for it," he told Daily Bhaskar.
When asked how a leader can get an ad published with such contents in his individual capacity, he said, "I don't know. I have not even seen that particular edition of The Indian Express."
Earlier, metro man E Sreedharan featured among the upper echelon of the BJP, including Atal Bihari Vajpayee and LK Advani. The hoardings carried a large image of Narendra Modi.
Sreedharan denied his association with the BJP or any other political party and said, "I have not given permission to BJP to display my photograph in its election posters. I have no intention to join any political party."
Four years back, the BJP had lifted a photograph showing some veil-clad Muslim girls working on computers from web portal TwoCircles.net without permission to use it in an advertisement to buttress the point that Gujarat Muslims are faring much better than those elsewhere.
But in reality, the girls belonged to famous Shibli National College in Azamgarh in eastern Uttar Pradesh. They had nothing to do with Gujarat.
No comments:
Post a Comment