"I am a Musalman. This country is not possible without me. I am not a hostage or a prisoner of this country. I want full rights of citizenship"
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI — Muslims in the country are living under constant threat and no month goes by without a threat to their lives, Asaduddin Owaisi, Member of Parliament from Hyderabad and President of AIMIM, said in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
Speaking during the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address, Owaisi attacked the BJP-led government on several fronts including the situation of minorities in the country and the tussle with China at the border.
“An MP recently asked people to use knives not only for cutting vegetables but also throats. One more MP asked people to boycott the Muslim community. Gulbarga railway station’s colour was changed from green because it is the colour of Muslims. I want to ask the Narendra Modi govt if it would remove the green colour from the national flag as well?” he asked.
Owaisi further asked if the Modi government would ban the sale of watermelons because they are green in colour. “The Centre will ask people to buy oranges cultivated at its office in Nagpur,” he said taking a dig at both the RSS and the BJP.
Speaking on the Centre’s Nari Shakti initiative, Owaisi said that Bilkis Bano would have found justice if she wasn’t a Muslim. “Bilkis Bano is fighting for twenty years…and since her name is Bilkis Bano, you don’t want to do her justice,” he said.
On BJP’s recent positive signalling to Pasmanda Muslims, Owaisi asked the saffron party to give Dalit status to the community. “You don’t want to do that. Don’t they have freedom of religion?” he asked.
“Sir I am a Musalman. This country is not possible without me. I am not a hostage or a prisoner of this country. I want full rights of citizenship,” he remarked.
Owaisi also asked when the Centre will provide the OBC status to the Surjapuri and Kulhaiya Muslims.
Owaisi lamented that there was no mention of minorities in the President’s address despite being 19 per cent of the country’s population.
“According to the NSSO data, is it not true that 25 per cent of Muslim students drop out of education due to poverty? Is it also not true that in terms of literacy in children seven years and above, the least percentage is of Muslims? Is it not true that the Gross Attendance Ratio of students is the least among Muslims? Is it also not true that the least enrollment in schools is of Muslims? Is it not a fact that according to the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) data, the percentage of Muslims studying higher education has come down from 5 to 4 per cent? Even after all this, there was no mention of minorities in the President’s address,” he said.
The Hyderabad MP said that the budget allocated for minorities was reduced by 40 per cent. “Narendra Modi’s government doesn’t want Muslim children to get stronger and support the nation. They want minorities to be prey to poverty and discrimination,” he added.
On Hindenburg-Adani row
On the Hindenburg research investigative report on the Adani Group, Owasi said that if Hindenburg Research was from India, it would have faced the draconian UAPA.
He took a dig at Modi over his relationship with Gautam Adani and said, “A is very unlucky for you. The entire market has come down to the 5th position.”
Owaisi remarked that both the Congress and the BJP are responsible for ‘oligarchs’ in India. “People who have fled from this nation with huge wealth. Does that list include the names of the Mughals?” he asked.
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Photo via Getty Images
