PUNE: In an editorial published on Wednesday, the ailing Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray claimed that the way Muslims are being pampered and given concessions would lead to India soon becoming a Muslim state.
Thackeray made the comments in an article published in the Shiv Sena mouthpiece, Saamna, hitting out at Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi who had said on Monday that India could have a Muslim premier. Gandhi made the remarks at a function at the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU).
“India could well have a Muslim prime minister,” said Rahul while addressing the AMU staff and students, “not because he is from a particular community, but because he or she passes the capability test handsomely. It is about what you bring to the table, what capability you have.”
In his editorial, Thackeray stated that Rahul did not own the country. “I would welcome and have no objection to a Muslim becoming the prime minister provided the Muslim, be it a he or she, fulfills some conditions,” wrote Thackeray. “He should ensure that Muslims follow a common civil code, family planning, support Ram temple at Ayodhya and Vande Mataram is made compulsory for them. Only then a Muslim can become the PM.”
He further wrote: “All those Congress leaders who have occupied the prime minister’s chair till date were not Muslims. But still the way they pampered the Muslims, that would not even be done by the rulers in the Islamic world.”
“Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had said that Muslims would be the first to hold property rights in the country. And now Rahul is trying to make Muslims supreme and the Congress party is working to achieve that goal,” Thackeray said.
In view of the federal and state governments engaged in showering concessions to Muslims, the vital question that troubles Hindus is how to survive in such a situation in our own country, Thackeray said.
