Shiv Sena's Ramdas Kadam threatens Muslims as Modi looks on

http://www.firstpost.com/politics/shiv-senas-ramdas-kadam-threatens-muslims-as-modi-looks-on-1491123.html

Shiv Sena's Ramdas Kadam threatens Muslims as Modi looks on

Even as Narendra Modi scrambling to distance himself from the likes of Pravin Togadia and Giriraj Singh, he is facing a new and potentially bigger source of embarrasment thanks to  Shiv Sena MLC Ramdas Kadam who threatened revenge against Muslims and Pakistan while Modi shared a stage with him at a Mumbai rally last night.

"These Muslims riot against the police and burnt their vehicles. They vandalised the statues of our martyrs. These Muslims molest our women policemen...I am sure that Narendra Modi will ensure that such acts do not go unpunished," Kadam said, referencing the Azad Maidan riots.

He then went on to target Pakistan, saying, "Remember the days of 1993 blasts in Mumbai. Life of many Hindus was saved because of late Shiv Sena supremo Balasaheb Thackeray and Shiv Sena. Now, if Modi comes to power, he will destroy the Pakistan in six months," said Kadam in his speech while addressing the rally referring that city is being repeatedly attacked by terrorists. Kadam was also the opposition leader in the state.

Ramdas Kadam. Photo courtesy: IBNLive.

CNN-IBN reports that Modi had come onto the dais when Kadam was already speaking and footage showed him seated on the stage as Kadam continued to talk against the Muslim community.

Kadam, a Shiv Sena MLA, has been at the centre of controversy in the past as well and has made other such statements against the Muslim community.

Modi had thus far managed to keep the communal statements of his supporters at arm's length. At a rally in Uttar Pradesh where the party felicitated Muzaffarnagar riot accused MLAs from the BJP, Modi arrived only after the ceremony was over to prevent being associated with it.

But his presence on the stage while Kadam made his statements will make it harder for him to distance himself this time around. And in the absence of a response from him or his campaign, it will be seen as a tacit endorsement of the same -- a point already being driven home by the likes of Digvijaya Singh.