All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Asaduddin Owaisi slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on Saturday for going “only to Mughals” when India emerged from “people consists of which they immigrated from Africa, Iran, Central Asia, East Asia.”
Speaking at a rally in Maharashtra’s Bhiwandi, Owaisi said: “India is not mine, nor Thackeray, nor Modi-Shah. If India belongs to anyone, it’s the Dravidians and Adivasis, but BJP-RSS comes after the Mughals. India was formed after people immigrated from Africa, Iran, Central Asia, East Asia.”
Earlier this week, Owaisi attacked the BJP by blaming the Mughals for inflation, fuel prices and unemployment. Speaking to reporters, Owaisi quipped that Aurangzeb, Akbar and Shah Jahan, not the prime minister, are to blame for the troubles that have gripped the country.
“I think the Mughals are to blame for the rising gas prices. Aurangzeb is responsible for this. Akbar is responsible for inflation and Shah Jahan for unemployment. I believe that. All of these responsibilities rest with the Mughals. The Prime Minister is not responsible for anything,” Owaisi said.
Owaisi’s comments came amid a series of claims by Hindu petitioners about mosques and Mughal architecture.
The AIMIM President cracked down on Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) President Sharad Pawar for failing to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the arrest of Nawab Malik, as he had with Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut. Nawab Malik is NCP leader and minister in the government of Maharashtra.
“BJP, NCP, Congress, SP are the secular parties. They think they shouldn’t go to jail, but it’s okay if a Muslim party member goes. NCP chief Sharad Pawar goes to PM Modi to urge him not to do anything about Sanjay Raut. I would like to ask NCP staff why Pawar didn’t do the same for Nawab Malik,” he said.
“Is Nawab Malik smaller than Sanjay Raut? I would like to ask Sharad Pawar why you didn’t speak for Nawab Malik? Is it because he is Muslim? Aren’t Sanjay and Nawab the same?” Owaisi added.
