AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi today said Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the people in Gujarat he was pained by “abuses” hurled at him but kept mum on the heart-rending killing of a Muslim labrourer in Rajasthan.
Referring to the killing of Mohammed Afrazul, who hailed from West Bengal, allegedly in the name of “love jihad” on Wednesday, Owaisi alleged Muslims were being targeted under the BJP rule because of their faith.
“Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi no one called you a Pakistani … I have been called a Pakistani for 70 years. Whom should I complain to?
“Now that you have been abused you are telling the people in Gujarat you were pained,” Owaisi said at an event here.
He alleged Modi reffered to the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title dispute as an issue of Ram Temple only and asked if he was the prime minister of “the Hindus or the entire nation”.
Referring to Mani Shankar Aiyar’s controversial remark against the PM, the Hyderabad MP said he did not approve of the language used by the Congress leader.
“I do not approve of the language. But you should have at least mentioned Afrazul during campaigning in Gujarat,” he said.
Afrazul (48) was hacked and burnt to death in Rajasthans Rajsamand district.
In a video of the killing shared on social media, the accused is seen declaring he killed the man to save a woman from “love jihad” and warning that anyone challenging the majority community would “meet the same fate”.
“There is a BJP government in Rajasthan. It is under your government Afrazul was killed and the killer speaks about love jihad. It is your people who talk about love jihad.
“You have been saying you were abused and you are pained. Not once did you speak about Afrazul,” he said.
The AIMIM chief alleged Muslims were being selectively targeted since the BJP came to power in 2014.
“Muslims are being targeted because of their faith and the government lauds those who nurture such thinking,” he said.
Owaisi alleged the PM was silent on the killings of “Mohammed Akhlaq, Hafiz Junaid and Ummar Khan”.
Akhlaq was lynched in Uttar Pradesh for allegedly storing beef in 2015. Junaid was killed on a train by a mob that hurled communal slurs at him. Ummar Khan was shot dead allegedly by cow vigilantes in Rajasthan in November.
“No one from the BJP speaks on the incidents. Why the PM did not speak on the death of Afrazul. It shows the mentality of the BJP,” Owaisi said.
The prime minister should ask the people not to doubt the honesty of Muslims or call them Pakistanis, he said.
At an event in Mahabubnagar, Owaisi alleged that the ideology of Hindutva would “weaken and destroy the country like fire”.
While speaking on the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title dispute, Modi in Gujarat described it as Ram temple (issue), Owaisi said.
“Are you a prime minister of the Hindus or the entire nation? How can a prime minister speak for one side. You should have said it was an issue of Mandir and Masjid,” he said.
Modi was “silent” when a Union minister from Karnataka “abused” Muslims, he alleged.
“If you are the prime minister of the entire India then remove him (the minister) from the ministry,” he added.