That's how it's truly secular. No support from any communal groups at all. If only others had this much of spine.
Reject Imam Bukhari's Pledge of Support, Says AAP Ahead of Delhi Polls
New Delhi: Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party has rejected a vote appeal in its favour by leading cleric Syed Bukhari for tomorrow's elections in Delhi. The BJP says AAP is "rattled by the Imam's fatwa."
"We don't need the support of a man who did not invite India's prime minister but invited Pakistan's PM on his son's anointment. One has to respect the Prime Minister of the country," said AAP's Ashutosh after Syed Bukhari, who is the Shahi Imam of Delhi's Jama Masjid, appealed to all Muslims to support AAP and "form a secular government in Delhi."
The party's Ashish Khaitan alleged that Syed Bukhari's politics "is regressive and communal," and added, "AAP wants to finish off communal politics. We want to finish off what Imam stands for. We want the support of every common man."
Minutes later the BP's Nirmala Sitaraman said, "AAP said on donations that we didn't ask for the money, someone gave. This is what is happening with this fatwa issued by the Shahi Imam."
Tomorrow's election is expected to be a close contest between AAP and the BJP, which fielded PM Modi in a blitz of four rallies in five days this week, where he made a focused attack on Mr Kejriwal and his party.
Last year, the Imam had sent out an invitation to Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif for a ceremony to appoint his son as his successor and had said that he was not inviting Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "The host decides who to invite. And I have no place for Modi in my heart," Syed Bukhari had said.
The appointment as Imam-in -waiting of 19-year-old Shaban Ahmed Bukhari also ran into controversy, with the Wakf board challenging it in the Delhi High Court. The court had observed that the Shahi Imam's move "has no legal sanctity" but had not cancelled the ceremony.