All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) MP from Hyderabad Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday targeted both the ruling BJP as well as the Opposition Congress over the poor representation of Muslims in Lok Sabha and violence against the community. Participating in the discussion on Motion of Thanks on the President’s address, Owaisi said while the BJP wins elections on the “hate against Muslims”, the “so-called messiah” of the community (read Congress, the main Opposition party) gets “over 90% of Muslim votes and yet the doors of the House are not opened”. Owaisi said the number of MPs from OBC (other backward classes) in the House were now on par with “upper-caste” MPs but Muslims, who account for 14% of the country’s population, form only 4% in the Lok Sabha. Only 24 Muslims were elected to the Lok Sabha this year, two less than in 2019. Of these, 21 are from the Opposition INDIA bloc, including Congress’s nine. The ruling NDA does not have a single Muslim MP. There has also been a notable decline in the overall count of Muslim candidates of major political parties, with only 82 nominated this time against 115 in 2019. This, Owaisi said, is happening because “for opposition parties, Muslims exist only to cast votes.” The AIMIM leader also said that since June 4, six Muslims have been lynched and 11 houses in Madhya Pradesh were demolished by “Modi’s bulldozers” but “there was silence in the Opposition parties”. “And I would like to tell the Opposition parties that this is not a moral victory for you, this is a victory of majoritarianism,” he said. “Everyone should contemplate and introspect why it is that the OBC and the upper caste are getting their due representation. Why are the Muslims not getting it? Are we here only to vote for you and not get elected?” he added. Union Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya requested the Chair, Jagdambika Pal, that Owaisi’s lynching and “Modi’s bulldozers” remarks be authenticated. In his speech, Owaisi also targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi over unemployment. Referring to the recruitment drive for jobs in Israel, he said: “The state of unemployment is such that Narendra Modi is running camps for youth… making them cannon fodder so that properties of Palestine can be grabbed (by Israel)”. “This is the policy of Vishwaguru. 27 tonnes of arms is being sent to Israel. Nine million Indians work in the Gulf. What will be the impact…what is our policy, why are arms being sent? “ he added.
