By M Reyaz, TwoCircles.net,
New Delhi: Raising the issue of reservation for Muslims, freedom of religion, the purported ghar wapsi as well as the reinstatement of IPS officers in Gujarat accused of fake encounter case, Asaduddin Owaisi, AIMIM president and Hyderabad MP, came down heavily on the BJP-led government at the Centre.
Owaisi, who heads the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Musalimeen (AIMIM) was speaking in the Lok Sabha while participating in the discussion on motion of thanks on the President’s address on February 26.
“Your Maharashtra government talks about giving reservation to Marathas, which you are not opposing. But what about Muslims whose empirical data shows that they are socially and educationally backward? Why is it that you are not allowing reservation for Muslims? Why are you not removing the legal obstacles for 4.5 % reservation to minorities? Is this ‘Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas’?” he asked during his speech.
Asaduddin Owaisi in Lok Sabha
“If you believe in Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas, why is it that you are removing all obstacles for reservations to be provided to Jats but not to Muslim minorities?” the MIM leader asked.
“The Prime Minister says, ‘I will give you a Quran and I will give you a computer’,” he said and added: “We do not want Quran. Quran is in our hearts. Give us reservation. Empower us with reservation. Give demand-driven scholarship to all Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Backward Class students.”
Referring to the statement of the chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee in the White House Summit of Counter Terrorism, Owaisi noted that he has rightly said that India’s core strength is liberal, plural and secular democracy. “But I would like to know from the Government, if it believes in secular and plural democracy, whether this Government will appeal against the trial court judgment of December 30, 2014 of the Mumbai High Court which had given a temporary leeway to the ruling party President?” he asked.
Calling Kausar Bi, who was allegedly “drugged, raped, murdered, her body burnt and thrown into a river in Gujarat,” as his sister, the MIM leader wondered if she will ever get justice.
Appreciating that the Government has taken a decision to remove the Governor of Madhya Pradesh because his name was mentioned in an FIR, Owaisi wondered as to why not same sense of ethics was shown in Gujarat, where IPS officers who are facing grave charges of murders in encounters are being taken back into service?
“If a Governor can be removed, when he can be asked to resign, why are you not practicing this yourself?” he asked amidst interruption from BJP MP Nishikant Dubey. “I know it hurts when the truth is being said over here.”
The Hyderabad MP also reminded the House that on February 17, the Prime Minister spoke about freedom of religion, but within a week, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat – whom he called PM’s “spiritual, intellectual and ideological guru” – made an “obnoxious statement” about a Nobel Laureate.
Referring to the recent incident of Khushinagar in Uttar Pradesh, where reportedly about 150 Muslim families have fled from the village due to fear of BJP’s Yogi Adityanath, the Hyderabad MP wondered why the government is not able to rein in the communal elements from the right wing Hindutva groups.
Earlier, opposing the motion of thanks to the Presidential address moved by BJP MPs Anurag Thakur and Nishikant Dubey, Owaisi said the President’s address has let down 60 % of our population which is youth.
“The Prime Minister, in his ‘Mann ki Baat’ talked about drug menace. But not a single word is mentioned about how this government will control drug menace which has killed more than 26,000 youths in 10 years. Every year, 2500 youths are dying. We have more than three million drug addicts in our country and not a single word is mentioned about how this government will control the drug menace.”
While concluding, he quoted Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar to caution the Prime Minister. “Bhakti in religion may be a road to salvation of soul, but in politics, bhakti or this hero worship is sure road to degradation and eventual dictatorship,” he said, adding, “Prime Minister, understand this is a Parliamentary democracy, not a Presidential form of democracy.”