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Muslim body criticises PM for remarks

The United Kingdom-based Council of Indian Muslims has condemned as 'highly provocative, irresponsible and unwarranted' Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajapyee's address to his partymen in which he reportedly attacked Islam and tried to justify the massacre of Muslims in Gujarat.

"Earlier we were surprised and had mixed feelings about Vajpayee's expression of sympathy with the victims of anti-Muslim riots in Gujarat in which he said that he was 'ashamed'. But his latest outburst has removed the mask, the RSS man was trying to cover his face with," Muhammad Munaf Zina, convenor of CIM said in a statement in London on Monday night.

"Such a highly irresponsible, provocative and unwarranted speech is unbecoming of a prime minister of a multi-religious and multi-cultural country like India," Munaf said.

Munaf sa0id that BJP's 'shameless backing' of Gujarat's Chief Minister Narendra Modi and asking him to hold elections in the state was open proof that the 'party had planned these anti-Muslim programmes' in the state.

"By holding assembly election now they want to cash in on the highly charged communal situation in the state," he alleged.

"They know that if elections are held now thousands of Muslims will not be able to go to polling stations to vote. And on the other hand Hindus will be too pleased to vote the regime back in power. This is a clever ploy to disfranchise the Muslims," he said.

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