Asaduddin Owaisi corners BJP on sops to Hindu pilgrims, temples, priests
Hyderabad: Reacting to the Union government decision to do away with the Haj subsidy, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi asked the Union government if it was also planning to do away with appeasement of the Hindu community by way of withdrawing grants to temples, pilgrimages and priests’ salaries.
Mr Owaisi said, “BJP and RSS had called Haj subsidy appeasement, vote bank politics. My Questions to BJP is will you bring a Bill to remove Article 290a of the Constitution. Will BJP tell Yogi (UP CM Yogi Adityanath) to stop Rs 800 crore for pilgrimage to Ayodhya, Kashi and Mathura?”
He wanted to know why Haryana government gave Rs 1 crore to Dera Sacha Sauda. “Was it for electoral appeasement? Why did Modi government give a grant of Rs 100 crore to MP for Simhastha Maha Kumbh. Was this not appeasement?” he said.
The MP said that he had been demanding the removal of Haj subsidy since 2006 while also advocating that the money be used for education and upliftment of Muslim girls.
He added that the subsidy this year was Rs 200 crore, which would have been phased out by 2022 as per the Supreme Court order. The MP also highlighted how Rajasthan’s BJP government had allocated Rs 38.91 crore in 2017-18 for Devasthan department.
