Senior advocate Ram Jethmalani today heaped praise on Narendra Modi terming him as protector of the minorities and said it was a "deep-rooted conspiracy" by those who portray him as "anti-Muslim".
Openly batting for Modi as a Prime Minister, 90-year-old Jethmalani said the Gujarat Chief Minister has come as a "avatar" to rid this country of its ills and deserves to be the PM, and he would be "ashamed if Rahul Gandhi becomes the PM, as he was just not equipped for that job."
"Modi was not anti-Muslim by any shred of imagination instead, he is a protector of the Muslims, who love him and this is what precisely worries the Congress party," the veteran lawyer said while addressing a seminar on the topic "Modi's relevance in today's political scenario" organised by a lawyers' body here this evening.
Claiming that those who portray him as anti-Muslim were doing so under a "deep-rooted conspiracy", he said if Muslims would have been anti-Modi, then how come he has been repeatedly winning elections in his state.
"He won the last Assembly polls with a thumping majority and 31 per cent Muslims voted for him. This has been frustrating for the Congress," he said, adding he won February 2002 bypolls from Rajkot constituency with a thumping margin despite BJP dissidents supporting a powerful Congressman.
"The leaders of 28 Muslim organisations openly supported him enabling him to win from Rajkot and this made the Congress party nervous. Modi won first election on Muslim support," he said, adding that Muslims of Gujarat, particularly of the Kutch region had started greatly admiring him after they saw how he served the quake victims that included a large number of people from the community as well.
The senior lawyers said that on the morning of February 27, 2002 when he was to announce his budget in the State Assembly and express his gratitude to the Muslims for their support, "the unfortunate incident of Godhra happened."
Jethmalani further said that Modi deserves to be the PM while Rahul Gandhi and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal were "unfit" for the office. "I am not praising Modi with any eye on any post," he said.
He also attacked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, saying "he was there to keep the seat warm (for Rahul)...I will be ashamed if Rahul becomes PM, he is just not equipped for that job."
Asked about his views about Kejriwal, he said, when AAP was formed, he not only welcomed the party but also gave handsome donation.
