Refusal to wear skull cap is Modi`s signal to Hindutva constituency: Congress

New Delhi: BJP`s prime ministerial nominee Narendra Modi is sending an "unmistakable signal" of his "bias and bigotry" against Muslims to the nation by consistently refusing to wear a skull cap, Congress charged on Saturday.

"It`s not as simple that he did not wear a skull cap. That is the only headgear he refuses to wear. He wore all kinds of outlandish headgears including one with a dead bird of an endangered specy. He wore the headgear of Nagaland, turban and saafa. "By not wearing the skull cap, he is sending an unmistakable signal to his hardcore supporters that he will not cater to the needs of this community. He never misses an opportunity to signal his bias and bigotry to the nation," party spokesperson Shashi Tharoor told reporters. The Congress spokeseperson also pointed out that Modi`s frequent reference to Rahul Gandhi as "Shehjade", "burqa of secularism" and calling Ahmed Patel as "Miyan Ahmed Patel" are also meant to send this signal about his "very narrow, bigoted framework" of thinking. He said if Modi wanted to describe Rahul Gandhi as prince, he could have also used the word "Rajkumar" but he uses a word which seeks to identify a particular community as target. "Through such things, he wants to give the signal that he will not do anything for minorities. There is a subtext in all remarks of Modi. Modi is signalling that he does not respect the headgear of a community," he said. His comments came on a day when the BJP`s PM candidate insisted that he was prepared to "face defeat" but would not practice politics of identity.