he residents of Solapur in Maharashtra are accusing their MP, Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde of promoting religious divisiveness instead of unity. At the foundation stone laying ceremony of an "Urdu Bhawan" complex in Solapur on Monday, the Home Minister refused to be anointed by a vermilion tilak when a Hindu priest approached him. But he went on to accept a fez cap from a maulavi. The organisers had invited both the priest and the maulavi to showcase communal harmony.

A source, who is a voter in Solapur, Maharashtra, said that Shinde brushed aside the priest when he approached the minister to apply the ceremonial tilak on his forehead. He did not even let him chant a few mantras, citing paucity of time. "Shinde just grabbed a few akshata (coloured rice), tossed them hastily and snatched the microphone from the priest. He then handed it over to the maulavi and let him to read from Islamic religious texts," said the source.

"Shinde, the leaders accompanying him and his MLA daughter, Praniti Shinde, wore fez caps," the source added. Mohammad Arif Naseem Khan, Maharashtra's Minister for Textiles and Minorities Development was also present.

Talking to The Sunday Guardian, advocate M.H. Shaikh, a Communist Party of India (Marxist) state committee member from Solapur said, "What Shinde did is not good for the secular fabric of our city. If there was paucity of time and therefore no time for puja, then the organisers should not have invited the priest. Bhumi-pujan is a Hindu ceremony that involves rituals that the priest had to perform. To observe only Islamic rituals after inviting priests from both communities is wrong. This raises questions about Mr Shinde's secular credentials."

Solapur resident Hrishikesh Akatnal said, "Shinde's actions at the function hurt the religious sentiments of the locals. All communities live in peace and harmony in Solapur, but when leaders begin driving wedges between communities in this manner, one segment feels slighted. This could lead to festering tensions."

"Shinde has done nothing significant for the minorities. He rarely visited his constituency in the last five years. It is only in the last two months that he has been coming here, to campaign for the elections," said Appasaheb Chougule, a former Solapur corporator.

In 2009, Shinde was re-elected from Solapur for his third Lok Sabha term.

"Shinde has always played the divisive card for votes," added Chougule. He said that the Urdu Bhawan would not take off soon as the land it is being built on is earmarked for the Solapur civil hospital. Until the land is cleared for the construction of the Urdu Bhawan, the project remains on paper.

Shaikh warned that Shinde's "days of complacency" are over. "The minority community is beginning to see through Shinde's cunning policies. He announces projects in haste, flies in by government helicopter and exits in haste. He thinks the region has no alternative but to elect him. The electorate may give him a jolt just the way it did to Shivraj Patil in Latur in 2004. Remember, Patil was defeated by a new woman candidate from the BJP."

BJP leader Ashok Nimbargi said, "Shinde announces policies that project him as a benefactor of minorities, but he is not bothered about completing them. Recently, he announced that a hostel would be built for Muslim girls but the funds for that project never arrived."

Shaikh said that the hostel is slated to be built on land meant for a government college, and fails in terms of logistics and security as it is located on the outskirts of the city.

Chougule said, "The problem is that the region has not thrown up any significant alternatives. People in the constituency argue that through Shinde, the region at least has a voice at the Centre and so are satisfied with the small freebies thrown their way."