BJP's Jaipur rally to display Modi's 'burqa of secularism'

For Modi's rally on Tuesday, Muslims have been asked to wear burqas, skull caps

Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi will likely to kick start their party campaigns for the Rajasthan assembly elections on September 10 and 11 from Jaipur and Udaipur, respectively.

 

The communal clashes in Muzaffarnagar have created panic in the Congress, usually the worst sufferer in a polarised atmosphere. The clashes in the Jat-dominated area pose greater complexity as polls will be held soon in party-ruled Rajasthan, where the group has considerable presence.

 

However, the BJP election campaign committee chief's Jaipur rally has already got mired in controversy. 

 

The BJP's minority cell has allegedly issued a diktat asking Muslims to follow a particular dress code for the rally. 

 

According to media reports, men have been asked to wear sherwanis and skull caps and females have been asked to wear burqas.

 

Sources say the dress code idea has been put forward to 'polish' the BJP's pro-Muslim image in the state.

 

The saffron party is expecting a huge turnout for the rally where BJP president Rajnath Singh, Modi and former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje will address a rally at Amroodon-ka-bagh ground. 

 

The rally will coincide with the concluding day of state BJP president Vasundhara Raje's Suraj Sankalp Yatra, which she undertook across Rajasthan since April.

 

According to TV channels, clerics from Ajmer Sharif Dargah were likely to participate in the rally. Interestingly, the clerics would be dressed in skullcaps and sherwanis, something that has been an anathema for Modi till now.

 

Around four lakh party workers from booth level to district party functionaries, MLAs, MPs and senior party leaders are expected to attend the rally, he said.

 

The Rajashtan assembly poll later this year is going to be the litmus test for Modi. In Rajasthan, Muslims clearly are a major vote bank in more than 40 assembly constituencies.