Hyderabad: Union minister M. Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday flayed MIM president Asaduddin Owaisi for saying that he would never say “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” to prove his patriotism. Mr Owaisi took to Twitter to hit back at his detractors, saying he was a patriot and he need not prove it by merely raising slogans.
“In the Freedom Struggle, everyone was united and raised the slogan Vande Mataram. Maa ko vandanam. It’s unfortunate for the country, some people are objecting to it and shamelessly saying they will not do it at any cost,” Mr Naidu said in New Delhi. He said there was no need to bring pressure or law on someone to salute the mother.
Mr Owaisi reacted to RSS leader Mohan Bhagwat’s statement during a TV debate that the time has come to teach nationalism, by saying that there was no such slogan in the Constitution (Bharat Mata Ki Jai). He reacted on Twitter angrily: “Who is the RSS to question my loyalty? Where in the Constitution does it say that I must say Bharat Mata Ki Jai? If someone says, my patriotism will be proven only if I chant Bharat Mata, I vouch, and I will never do it in my life.”
