New Delhi, Oct. 30: The Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid today said Mamata Banerjee had agreed to attend his successor’s “post-coronation” dinner but controversially left Prime Minister Narendra Modi out of his guest list, citing the 2002 riots.

Syed Ahmed Bukhari’s snub to Modi seemed all the starker considering the invitees to the November 29 dinner include Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, and several BJP leaders too.

Asked why he had invited Sharif but not India’s Prime Minister, Bukhari cited the riots during Modi’s stint as Gujarat chief minister.

“Indian Muslims have not forgiven him for the 2002 riots, and the wounds are yet to heal. He has never apologised for the riots or tried to reach out to Muslims,” Bukhari said.

He added: “I have personal equations with Nawaz Sharif.”

Sharif had attended Modi’s swearing-in on May 26, after which he had visited the Jama Masjid and met Bukhari.

“Who I invite is a matter of my personal choice. Not inviting Modi does not make me anti-national. He too had invited Sharif to his swearing-in but did not invite me,” the Shahi Imam said.

Among the other invitees are Samajwadi Party leaders Mulayam Singh Yadav and Akhilesh Yadav and BJP bigwigs Rajnath Singh, Shahnawaz Hussain, Harsh Vardhan and Vijay Goel.

Bukhari had recently named his 19-year-old son Shaban Bukhari as his successor. Shaban is studying for a bachelor’s degree in social work at a private university in Delhi.

He will be anointed Nayab Shahi Imam (deputy imam) at a ceremony in the majestic mosque on November 22. Around 1,000 religious leaders from across the world are to attend the event, which will include a dastarbandi (tying of the turban). The dinner will follow a week later.

“I received a fax from Trinamul Congress MP Mukul Roy today in which he has assured me that Mamata-didi will grace the occasion on November 29,” Bukhari said. “She was present at my anointment ceremony in October 2000 too.”

That ceremony, during which then Shahi Imam Abdullah Bukhari had passed the baton to his eldest son Ahmed, had rivalled a royal coronation amid a grand show of fireworks.

Bukhari has in the past too displayed a knack for creating political controversy. He had met Sonia just days ahead of this year’s general election, and then asked Muslims to vote for Trinamul in Bengal and the Congress in the rest of the country.

It provoked a BJP complaint to the Election Commission seeking action against Sonia on the charge of seeking votes in the name of religion.

Once close to Mulayam, Bukhari recently accused the Samajwadi Party of inaction over last year’s Muzaffarnagar riots and Mulayam of failing to deliver on promises made to Muslims.

Mosque insiders recalled how Bukhari had kicked up a storm in 2004 by appealing to Muslims to consider voting for then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Bukhari today said he would remain Shahi Imam for life but would groom Shaban to take over after his death.

The Bukharis claim that Emperor Shah Jahan had invited their ancestor, Abdul Ghafoor, from Bukhara in Central Asia to take over as Shahi Imam. Ghafoor’s 12th descendant, Ahmed Bukhari’s father Abdullah Bukhari, was anointed Shahi Imam in 1973.