'Modi's refusal of skull cap is an insult to Islam'

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi refused to put on a skull cap offered by a Muslim cleric during his sadbhavana fast in Ahmedabad.

Sayed Imam Shahi Saiyed, a cleric of a small dargah in Pirana village on the outskirts of the city (he lives in Savali village of Dakor taluka), had on Sunday gone up to the stage to greet the chief minister at the Gujarat University Convention hall.

He offered Modi a skull cap, but the Gujarat CM politely refused to wear it, asking him to offer a shawl instead. The Imam did so, and Modi was seen accepting it.

"Modi's refusal to accept the cap is not my insult but an insult of Islam," Saiyed told reporters on Monday.

"I had come to Ahmedabad after hearing about the sadbhavna mission fast and went to the stage to felicitate Modi.

"When I offered him the cap he told me that he would not wear it. He might have thought that wearing a skull cap will dent his image," the cleric said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party, however, said it was a non-issue.

"Narendra Modi has clearly said that his policy is not of appeasement of a section of society unlike other parties, but our approach is development for all and treating everyone as an equal," party spokesperson Vijay Rupani said.