NIZAMABAD: MIM chief and Hyderabad Lok Sabha MP Asaduddin Owaisi said that he would fight for Indian nationalism as the BJP-led NDA government was trying to destroy the spirit of the Indian Constitution. “We are committed to protecting our motherland,” he said.
Mr Owaisi found fault with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah for their “divisive policies”, even as he appreciated Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao for his conviction for secularism. Mr Owaisi read out the preamble of the Constitution at the meeting.
A public meeting was conducted at the New Idgah ground on Friday night in the city by the United Muslims Joint Action committee, in which, the MIM, CPI, CPM, CPI(ML) New Democracy, and the BSP, besides various peoples’ organisations and student unions took part. Large number of Muslims from Nizamabad, Adilabad and Karimnagar districts and Nanded district of Maharashtra took part in the meeting.
Speaking at the meeting, Mr Owaisi said that they would strongly oppose the Hindu ideology. “India got its Independence because of sacrifices of the older generations and we should live together,” he said.
India wanted to move ahead on the path of secularism, but BJP was trying to polarise religious vote banks, he alleged. He said that the Congress should break its silence on CAA-NRC. Mr Owaisi also claimed that NRC and NPR were different sides of the same coin.
He criticised the BJP-RSS for spreading false propaganda. He warned that silence on NRC and CAA was threat to all the citizens in the country. He said that protests would continue till the NDA government withdrew the controversial Bills. Assam was the worst affected state because of the NRC, he said.
Modi’s ideology is narrow: Oppn.
The BJP was trying to divide people on religious lines to strengthen its political base, Owaisi alleged.
TRS MLAs Shakil and J.Surender, and Dadannagari Vittal Rao, Nizamabad zilla parishad chairman, and others were present. They shared dais with MIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi and Communist party leaders. Speaking at the meeting, they said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi “poses as broad thinking man, but his ideology is narrow.”
The ruling TRS party MLAs said that they would extend their solidarity with anti-CAA and anti-NRC protests in Telangana. The anti CAA-NRC protests were not against any religion, but as law would adversely affect everyone, they said.
Shakil Amer, TRS MLA, Bodhan, and J.Surender, TRS MLA, Yellareddy, said that Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, TRS working president K T Rama Rao were real secularists, who would protect the interests of all, they said.
The TRS MLAs said that they would support the victims of CAA-NRC. “We are not afraid to face the CAA-NRC and fight till it would be scrapped,” they said.
Pink flags and tri-coloured flags were waved by enthusiastic participants in the public meeting. Meanwhile, minister V. Prashanth Reddy, and Nizamabad urban MLA Bigala Ganesh Gupta did not participate in the meeting, due to “unavoidable situations”, TRS party sources said.
