All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi criticised Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat’s comments on the Gyanvapi Masjid case and Indians having the same ancestral lineage. He questioned what if one questioned Mr Bhagwat’s ancestry.
Taking to Twitter, Mr Owaisi stated, “Today’s Muslims - even if their ancestors were Hindu - are citizens of India by virtue of the Constitution. What if one starts saying that Bhagwat’s ancestors were forcibly converted from Buddhism?”
Mr Owaisi disagreed with the RSS Sarsanghchalak, and pointed out that Islam first came to India by means of trade and scholarship. He maintained that forcible conversion “is a lie” and that Mr Bhagwat and his followers are unable to accept that “people born in modern India are Indian citizens”, even as he pointed out that it is irrelevant “where their ancestors came from, or who they are, or what they did.”
Mr Owaisi lashed out at the RSS chief’s recent speech in which he touched upon the Ram Janmabhoomi movement. He also criticised Bharatiya Janta Party president J P Nadda for his statements on the Gyanvapi Mosque case.
“Who is Mohan or Nadda to give an “assurance” on these issues? They hold no constitutional posts. Let @PMOIndia give a clear message that he stands by 1991 law. He has taken an oath on the Constitution. If he stands by it, all these Hindutva upstarts would have to stop,” Mr Owaisi tweeted.
The Hyderabad parliamentarian alleged that the RSS has “perfected political doublespeak” even as he claimed that those who have been disputing the nature of structures at Kashi, Mathura, and the Qutub Minar, among others, “have a direct link” to the Sangh.
“It’s an old Sangh tactic to disown things when they’re unpopular while owning them later on (anyone remember Godse & his “friend” Savarkar?) Even during Babri agitation, some’d say we’ll follow SC’s orders while others said this is a matter of astha & court cannot decide,” he tweeted. He also criticised BJP’s Telangana president Bandi Sanjay for reportedly stating that mosques in the State should be dug up.
“It’s for courts to nip it in the bud. If these things are allowed to fester, we’ll be allowing mobs to get emboldened,” he tweeted.
