A Muslim cleric on Saturday issued a fatwa, offering a reward of Rs 25 lakh to anyone who will “cut off PM Narendra Modi’s beard, shave his head and smear him with black ink”. The move comes against the Centre’s decision to demonetise old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes. Shahi Imam of Tipu Sultan Mosque Maulana Nurur Rehman Barkati issued the fatwa at a meeting, chaired by the ruling Trinamool Congress MP, Idris Ali, in the Kolkata Press Club.
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“Everyday people are harassed and facing problem due to demonetisation…Modi is bluffing the society and the innocent people of the country through demonetisation and nobody wants him to continue as PM,” Shahi Imam said.
Explaining why he had singled out Narendra Modi’s beard, Barkati said, “People who keep beard are mostly religious like maulanas, sadhus, sufis, sikh gurus.. But Modi keeping beard is bhondami (bluffing).” He went on to term Modi as “communal”, while positing West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee as the figure of “communal harmony”.
Meanwhile BJP national secretary Siddharth Nath Singh, in-charge of Bengal affairs said, “We demand that Mamata Banerjee immediately order his arrest. The fatwa against our PM is highly condemnable.”
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