Author: PTI
Publication: The Times of India
Date: December 9, 2009
URL: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/5318827.cms
Joining issue with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi
over his remark that a Muslim can become the prime minister provided he is
the most capable person for it, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray on Wednesday
said to qualify
for the top job the community will first have to support the Ram temple in
Ayodhya.
"Rahul is not the owner of the country.
He should ensure that Muslims follow a common civil code, family planning,
support Ram temple at Ayodhya and Vande Mataram is made compulsory for them.
Only then a Muslim can become the PM," Thackeray said in an editorial
in Sena mouthpiece Saamna.
"The way Muslims are being appeased,
it is clear that India is no longer secular but an undeclared Islamic state,"
he said.
Asked how much time it will take for India
to get its first Muslim prime minister, Gandhi had said during an interaction
with students of the Aligarh Muslim University two days back that, "it
is not about what religion or community you come from, it is what you bring
to the table, what capability you have."
"Today, Manmohan Singh is not the Prime
Minister of India because he is a Sikh. He is the Prime Minister because he
is the most capable person to do the job," Rahul had said.
