Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: Pakistan’s man of the moment Tahir-ul Qadri, who has triggered a political crisis in the country with a call to `cleanse the system` there, had visited Gujarat last year.
According to a report published in a leading English daily on Thursday, the Canada-based Qadri was a state guest of the BJP government in Gujarat led by Chief Minister Narendra Modi in February last year.
During his stay in Gujarat, the Sufi scholar gave a two-hour long televised speech on the essence of the Gita and the Koran.
Qadri, who runs an educational and religious organisation with networks all over the world, posses a deep knowledge of Hindu scriptures, which reveal the secular side of his personality.
During his interaction with Muslims in Gujarat, he advised them to shed their "sense of victimhood" despite facing criticism from leaders of the prominent Jamiat-ul-Ulema for "openly praising the killer of Muslims" and "calling Muslims terrorists".
However, the Pakistan cleric later said that no such unfortunate events like riots should be repeated and those who perpetrated should face the law.
Senior BJP leader Bhupendrasinh Chudasama, now a minister in the Modi cabinet, was also present at the event.
Chudasama described Qadri as a "soft-spoken" person, who advocated social and communal harmony and denounced Jihadi extremism.
The Sufi cleric has been rocking the political establishment in Pakistan with his fiery speeches and mass marches.
On Wednesday, Qadri gave an ultimatum to Pakistan`s Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf to quit by midnight.
Qadri is getting immense popular support in Pakistan for his appeal to end corruption and cleanse the rot in the political system there.
The Pakistani cleric wants `criminals` to be thrown out of politics and vows not to stop until his goals are accomplished.
