Hyderabad: All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) lawmaker Asaduddin Owaisi on Friday lashed out at Union Minister of Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi for not fulfilling the promise of providing scholarship to one crore Muslim students in the Union Budget.
Addressing a public gathering here, Owaisi said: "Naqvi had promised to give scholarship to one crore Muslims students every year. Why was the scholarship not provided in the Union budget?" Owaisi also accused BJP of creating a rift between Hindus and Muslims in the country, while asserting that his party will not let that happen.
"Muslims are afraid of being lynched. During Modi's tenure, as many as 50 people have been lynched. BJP's agenda is to create a rift between Hindus and Muslims, but we will not let this happen," he said at a public meeting at the Teegal Kunta here.
At the meeting, organised to protest the incidents of mob lynching, Owaisi alleged that since May 23, eight people were killed by mob lynching incidents and "It seems that mob lynching will continue in India, it is not going to end." Owaisi evoked the incident where 24-year-old Tabrez Ansari was allegedly lynched in Jharkhand, and said that Muslims are being targeted and labelled as thieves or terrorists.
"Whoever killed Tabrez, is the enemy of India, an agent of Pakistan, an agent of the ISIS and the son of the devil," Owaisi said.
AIMIM chief further urged the incumbent government to formulate a law to put a halt to mob lynching. "Justice Mishra and Chandrachud had directed the Centre to make law on the mob lynching. Why has it not been made?" asked Owaisi. The lawmaker said that even as the Modi government is gearing up to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi but Muslims continue to be killed." The minister added that everyone has the right to defend themselves when attacked.
"You teach your children the law, make them lawyers, enough of doctors and engineers ... Let there be an advocate from every house," Owaisi said at the public meeting here.
The Parliamentarian alleged that the Prime Minister had expressed displeasure with BJP legislator Akash Vijayvargiya, who had thrashed a Municipal Corporation officer with a cricket bat but did not raise the issue of mob lynchings with the Jharkhand chief minister even once. He also referred to the manner in which Parliamentarians chanted "Jai Shri Ram" during the ceremony in Parliament where he took oath. "What kind of message are you trying to give out to the country?" he asked.
Owaisi also spoke on the recent announcement by Bollywood actor Zaira Wasim to quit acting. "After the child (Zaira) wrote that she is quitting films it created quite a furore with people saying that she was scared away by mullahs." "You must be finding it difficult to understand how this girl took such a decision. I am proud that she has taken the decision based on her 'Deen' (faith)," he said.
