MUMBAI: Dubbing the Tehelka sting operation on the Gujarat riots as a 'political conspiracy to defame the Hindus' by the 'so-called secularists', the Shiv Sena on Saturday questioned the motive behind airing the tapes ahead of the Assembly elections in that state.
    
"Why was the whole sting done against Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi by Tehelka on the eve of the Gujarat elections? This is nothing but a political conspiracy to defame the Hindus," party Executive President Uddhav Thackeray said here.
    
Those leaders who are demanding Modi's arrest after the sting operation are doing so with an eye on the Muslim vote bank, he said.
    
"Why are these so-called secularists demanding Modi's arrest but keeping mum on hanging Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru. They are nothing but hypocrites," Thackeray said.
    
They should also demand the arrest of Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and its leader Abu Azmi for their 'anti-Hindu' utterances, he said.