The Imam of Delhi’s Jama Masjid, Syed Ahmed Bukhari, on Thursday invited Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for his son’s anointment, but excluded Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the guest list, Times of India reported.
“We have invited the prime minister of Pakistan as we have had relations with him since my father’s time, unlike with Modi, whom we have not invited,” Bukhari said, referring to the guest list for his son’s anointment as the next chief cleric.
Four Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, including two ministers, have also been invited to the ceremony.
The anointment of Bukhari’s son, 19-year-old Shaban, will take place on November 22 and guests have been invited for dinner on November 29.
“Modi has not done anything for Indian Muslims even after coming to power. Indian Muslims have not forgiven him for the 2002 Gujarat riots,” Bukhari said, referring to the 2002 communal clashes in Gujarat in which around 1,000 Muslims were killed.
“Modi has not even apologised (for the riots) and reached out to the Muslims,” he added.
“We have also invited Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi along with Vice President Hamid Ansari,” Bukhari added.
Earlier, on May 27 during his visit to attend Modi’s swearing-in ceremony, Nawaz paid a visit to the historic mosque and met Bukhari.