Jalna: The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi, on Sunday, January 11, questioned the ruling BJP’s nationalist credentials, accusing the Centre of inviting Chinese companies to invest in India even after Operation Sindoor and failing to respond to what he called US President Donald Trump’s repeated insults.
There has been no response from either the government or the BJP on Owaisi’s accusations so far.
The Hyderabad MP was addressing a rally for AIMIM candidates contesting the January 15 elections to the Jalna Municipal Corporation polls. His party has fielded candidates in 17 of the 65 electoral wards in the civic body.
Asaduddin Owaisi alleged that China had supplied arms to Pakistan during Operation Sindoor, which India had launched to respond to the Pahalgam terror attack. He claimed that nearly 80 per cent of Pakistan’s military equipment was sourced from China.
“Despite this, the Indian government is inviting Chinese companies to invest in the country,” he said.
He also claimed that US President Trump had been “repeatedly insulting and mocking India”. “However, the BJP leadership has remained silent. Where has its nationalism gone?” he asked.
There has been no response from either the government or the BJP on Owaisi’s accusations so far.
Owaisi also slammed the Centre’s decision to grant asylum to former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina after her ouster. He asked why Indian Muslims were often branded as Bangladeshis, while Hasina was given refuge in India.
Claiming that many Muslim youth are languishing in jail for years without trial, he said that denial of bail violated Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, which guarantees the right to life and personal liberty.
The AIMIM president also accused the Congress of being responsible for the prolonged incarceration of student activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam. He alleged that amendments made by the Congress to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) enabled extended detention without bail.
“The Congress calls us the BJP’s ‘B-team’ whenever elections are around the corner. However, it helped the BJP amend the UAPA. The so-called secular parties are scripting our devastation. They make the law to ensure that Muslim youth rot in jails,” he said in Parbhani.
‘So-called secular parties scripting our devastation’
He claimed the Congress winners will join hands with the ruling BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP. “People should not fall prey to their hollow promises here,” he said.
With the passage of the Waqf law, non-Muslims will now be nominated to the Waqf Boards, he said. “They will do what they are told to do (by those who nominate them). NCP chief Ajit Pawar was an ally of the BJP when the Waqf bill was passed. People should vote against such individuals to oppose this black law,” he said.
Owaisi also targeted the Shiv Sena (UBT)-Maharashtra Navnirman Sena alliance, saying MNS chief Raj Thackeray had demanded that the azan be stopped. He also claimed that employees of the Parbhani civic body have not been paid for the past three months.
His party has fielded candidates in 17 of the 65 electoral wards in the Jalna civic body.
