The leaders — Maulana Syed Kalbe Jawad Naqvi and Maulana Abur Irfan Firangi Mahali from Uttar Pradesh, and Maulana Muhammed Wali Rahmani from Bihar — told ET that while Modi was still to prove through his deeds that he cares for the welfare of Muslims, the Congress was trying to scare the community into supporting it.
The clerics were especially critical of Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi's recent statement on Pakistani agents trying to ensnare riot-scarred Muslim youth in UP's Muzzafarnagar district.
"There is no difference between Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi. He (Gandhi) has deliberately insulted Muslims. How can ISI agents come to government-run camps? Gandhi has rubbed salt into our wounds," said Maulana Kalbe Jawad, a prominent Shia leader from Uttar Pradesh and part of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board.
His comments come close on the heels of comments by his uncle, prominent Shia cleric and vice president of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, Kalbe Sadiq who last week said Modi, the BJP's prime ministerial candidate for 2014 elections, was not a political untouchable and could even get Muslim votes if he changes himself.
Maulana Firangi Mahali, a prominent leader of the Sunni community from UP, accused the Congress of "scare-mongering" to divert attention from real issues.
"Rahul Gandhi's latest statement on ISI is an attempt to take attention away from real issues of price rise and food inflation. Muslims eat onions also and purchase gas. Those issues matter more than some fairy tale about the ISI," he said.
The comments cannot be pleasant reading for the Congress, which will be hoping for Muslims voting for it en masse in the next general elections, in line with the community's past history of tactical voting in favour of political parties that best protect its interests.
With the Hindu vote traditionally splintered and divided across multiple political formations, the Muslim community could play a crucial role in determining the winner especially in the two battleground states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
Several Muslim leaders have of late been critical of the Congress for not keeping its promises to the community and also for the rising incidence of its youth being arrested, often falsely they say, in terror cases.
The clerics, speaking to ET over the weekend, dismissed any change of heart in the community towards Modi, but said the Congress was using his name to scare a section of Muslims.
"Modi ka darr dikhane se asar to hota hai," said Maulana Firangi Mahali, adding that the Congress run government's schemes for Muslims had not worked.
He also heaped scorn on the Gujarat CM's projection of himself as an effective administrator.
"Sirf cheekhne chillane se kaam nahin hota. Doesn't Gujarat have price rise and food inflation too? Has he (Modi) done anything to control onion prices in Gujarat?."
Maulana Wali Rahmani, a well respected leader of the Sunni community from Bihar, said Muslims were not scared of Modi and neither did they expect an apology from the Gujarat CM for the 2002 riots.
"The BJP needs to change its politics for the good of the country and not just Muslims," he said.
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