Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi calls India’s minorities as hostages; slams minority minister Kiren Rijiju

STC NEWS MONITORING DESK
NEW DELHI, JULY 08 (STC):
Taking a dig at Union Minister Kiren Rijiju for his X post claiming that minorities in India enjoy more benefits and protections than the majority, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday in a detailed post on X said Rijiju was not showing the true picture of what Indian Muslims go through. He reminded him to follow his duties as a minister under the Constitution.
Rijiju’s post on X reads: “India is the only country where the minorities get more benefits and protections than the majority community!”
Lashing the minister, Owaisi claimed that Rijiju was speaking like a ruler instead of someone holding a constitutional post.
“You are a Minister of the Indian Republic, not a monarch. Kiren Rijiju, you hold a constitutional post, not a throne. Minority rights are fundamental rights, not charity,” he said and questioned Rijiju’s idea of ‘benefits’ by pointing to the abuse and violence Muslims face.
“Is it a ‘benefit’ to be called Pakistani, Bangladeshi, jihadi, or Rohingya every single day? Is it ‘protection’ to be lynched? Is it protection that Indian citizens were kidnapped and pushed into Bangladesh?” Owaisi questioned.
He also raised concerns over the bulldozing of Muslim properties.
“Is it a privilege to watch our homes, masjids, and mazaars being bulldozed illegally? To be made socially, politically, and economically invisible?” he wrote in his X post.
He questioned: “Is it an ‘honour’ to be the target of hate speeches from no less than the Prime Minister of India?” He further stated “India’s minorities are not even second-class citizens anymore. We are hostages.”
Owaisi accused the government of slashing key scholarships for Muslim students. He cited government data and said that Muslims are being left behind.
“You discontinued the Maulana Azad National Fellowship. You defunded the pre-matric scholarship. You limited the post-matric and merit-cum-means scholarships. All because they benefited Muslim students,” he wrote.
“Muslims are now the only group whose numbers have fallen in higher education. Their presence in the informal economy has gone up. They have been among the worst-hit by your economic policies. This is your own govt’s data,” Owaisi said.
His X post further states: “We are not asking to be compared with other minorities of other countries. We are not asking for more than what the majority community gets.”
(STC)