Shiv Sena leader Ramdas Kadam
Narendra Modi today appeared to condemn virulent anti-Muslim remarks by one-time associate Pravin Togadia, but his party finds itself entangled in a new episode of hate remarks.
At a rally in Mumbai yesterday, just a few minutes before Mr Modi arrived, a leader from the Shiv Sena said to the large crowd, ""Narendra Modi will destroy Pakistan within six months if he comes to power." The remarks by Ramdas Kadam are the latest in a series of comments by hardliners that are threatening to over-shadow the election.
Mr Kadam's party, the Shiv Sena, is the oldest ally of the BJP, which has declared Mr Modi its prime ministerial candidate. After Mr Modi arrived at the venue with Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, Mr Kadam continued in Marathi, "If 5 lakh Muslims can gather at the Azad Maidan, desecrate memorials, attack policemen and molest policewomen... Narendra Modi will surely teach them a lesson." (
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Today, Mr Kadam, seemed to be searching for an exit route from the controversy. He said to NDTV, "I said Modi would teach a lesson to Pakistan, not destroy Pakistan."
His party has distanced itself from the comments. "The statements of Ramdas Kadam don't echo the sentiments of Bal Thackeray, Udhav Thackeray and the Shiv Sena. It is his personal view," the Sena said.
This morning, Mr Modi tweeted, "Petty statements by those claiming to be BJP's well-wishers are deviating the campaign from the issues of development & good governance (sic)." (
Modi raps Togadia for alleged hate speech: 10 developments)
His reprimand is being seen as a reaction to Pravin Togadia, a leader of the right-wing Vishwa Hindu Parishad, who faces a police investigation after a video appeared to show him urging Hindus to evict Muslims from their neighbourhoods in Gujarat.