HYDERABAD: All-India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi called the suspension of Goshamahal MLA T. Raja Singh from the party as “mere drama” to mislead the people, adding that he was arrested because the BJP is not in charge of affairs in Telangana.
Addressing a press conference at the AIMIM party headquarters on Monday, Owaisi remarked, “I’ve been saying since the beginning that the suspension drama was intended to mislead people. What is required is legal action, and the state police and the Telangana government must take the necessary steps.”
He also accused the BJP of shielding Nupur Sharma, who was suspended by the saffron party for making controversial remarks about the Prophet Mohammad.
The state police arrested Raja Singh on August 25 under the PD Act and lodged him in the Cherlapally Central Jail after he released a video in which he allegedly made derogatory remarks about Prophet Mohammad.
The BJP’s central disciplinary committee suspended Raja Singh from the party two days before his arrest, giving him until September 2 to explain why he should not be expelled from the party.
“Thankfully, we don’t have a BJP government here, so there was an arrest. In Delhi, Nupur Sharma is secure in her silken robes because of the BJP government at the Centre,” Owaisi said.
Further, the AIMIM president said the Narendra Modi government needs to clarify Indian policy toward Pakistan.
In response to a question about the India-Pakistan cricket match at the Asia Cup on Sunday, he stated that “it was the Modi government that said terrorism and cricket cannot go together. If that is the case, what is the current status? It is a fact that weapons are delivered into India via drones; we have a ceasefire agreement with Pakistan, but terrorists continue to enter, and Pandits continue to be killed in Kashmir, as do our security forces.”
He also claimed that China had thwarted India's attempt to declare Pakistan a terrorist state at the UN Security Council.
“Let the Modi government throw some clarity on this. Our efforts to have Pakistan declared a terror state are being blocked by China at the United Nations. So why are we still playing with Pakistan,” he asked.
On the issue of the Tricolour hoisting campaign to mark the 75th Independence Day, Owaisi stated that it is incorrect to state that anyone can demonstrate patriotism solely by hoisting or carrying our national flag.
Love for one’s country can be expressed in a variety of ways.
Our cricketers do so by playing for the country, while our scientists do so by launching satellites into space. There is no single way to express patriotism.”
