AIMIM chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi launched a scathing attack on NDA allies, including Chandrababu Naidu, Nitish Kumar, Chirag Paswan, and Jayant Chaudhary, accusing them of aiding the BJP in targeting Muslim institutions. Addressing a public gathering in Hyderabad, Owaisi declared that the Muslim community would “never forgive” these leaders for their role in supporting the controversial Waqf Amendment Bill. He argued that if they truly opposed the bill, they could prevent its introduction, but instead, they were complicit in the BJP’s alleged attempt to “finish our mosques and Waqf properties.” In protest, Owaisi joined other leaders in wearing a black armband, as urged by the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, to symbolize resistance against the bill.
Owaisi strongly criticized the Union government, comparing the Waqf Bill to an attack on Muslim identity and religious institutions. He questioned why Hindu temples and Sikh gurdwaras could maintain religious exclusivity in their management while Waqf boards were being forced to accommodate non-Muslim members. “What justice is this?” he asked, calling out the government’s hypocrisy. He also dismissed Yogi Adityanath’s recent remarks suggesting that Hindus were unsafe in Muslim-majority areas, stating that the real threat to all communities, including Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, and Christians, came from the ideology propagated by the RSS and leaders like Narendra Modi and Yogi Adityanath.
Further addressing concerns over religious discrimination, Owaisi condemned the Meerut Police’s decision to impose restrictions on Eid prayers on roads. He contrasted this with state-backed celebrations where people walking on roads were showered with flowers from helicopters, while Muslims faced threats of passport cancellations for offering namaz in public spaces. He criticized such double standards, calling them an attack on the constitutional right to religious freedom. With growing tensions over the Waqf Bill and religious policies, Owaisi’s remarks underscored the broader debate over secularism and minority rights in India.
