BJP Wants To Treat Muslims As Second Rate Citizens: Owaisi

AIMIM president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi lashed out at the BJP in the Centre for changing names of cities which had to do with Muslim rulers, historically. Addressing a massive election campaign meeting in Chandrayanagutta from where his brother and former AIMIM floor leader, Akbaruddin Owaisi is contesting, the MIM supremo said that the BJP was indulging in these political stunts to conceal its failures on several other fronts. He wondered if BJP National president Amit Shah would change the suffix Shah in his name which was derived from Persian.

Owaisi accused the BJP of trying to reduce Muslims in India to second rate citizens. He said that the BJP wanted to treat members of the Muslim community not as equal partners, but as tenants in the country. Referring to Maulana Abul Kalam Azad's 130th birth anniversary celebrations in the Parliament, he said that it was unfortunate that only three people were present on the occasion. This was in sharp contrast to birth anniversary celebrations of Sardar Vallabhabhai Patel recently in which both the BJP and Congress leaders showed up in good strength.

Congressmen themselves have forgotten their leaders who fought for the country all their lives, Owaisi said.

Prime Minister Modi had promised economic growth, jobs to the youth and made a host of other commitments which remained unfulfilled. This has now resulted in futile exercises such as the name-changing spree which the BJP has embarked on. In its manifesto for the state of Telangana, the BJP had promised to distribute one lakh cows throughout the state of Telangana if it is elected to power. Owaisi pointed out that one lakh cows would require 16 lakh kilos of fodder and one wonders where the BJP would procure this feed from when farmers are in deep distress.

The Hyderabad MP referred to a newspaper article in English, which stated that Congress president Rahul Gandhi said in Madhya Pradesh that the Congress stands with Hinduism. Owaisi added that when the Congress president spoke in Hyderabad, he accused the AIMIM of spreading hatred, though it becomes clear as to who is with forces inimical to secularism.

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