NEW DELHI: AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday strongly criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for sending a ceremonial ‘chadar’ to the Ajmer Sharif Dargah. Owaisi questioned the sincerity of the gesture, calling it a contradiction in light of ongoing petitions and disputes targeting mosques and dargahs across the country.
Referring to the PM’s act, Owaisi remarked, “A shayar has rightly said about the PM: ‘Isne hamare zakham ka kuch yu kiya illaj, marham bhi lagaya toh kaanto ki nokh se.’ (He treated our wounds in such a way, even when he applied a balm, it was with the point of a thorn.)”
“Sending a chadar is not enough,” Owaisi said. “When you send such a message to the community, you must also act to protect the integrity of those mosques and dargahs. Yet, your supporters are in court claiming that Khwaja Sharif is not a dargah. The government must put an end to this.”
The AIMIM leader also alleged discrimination against Muslims, citing his Right to Information (RTI) applications questioning the allocation of housing under government schemes to Muslim beneficiaries.
“I have filed more than two RTI applications in which I am asking the government that out of the houses being given under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, how many houses are being given to Muslims?… What is the share of Muslims in the government scheme?… Whether it is the AAP government or the central government, all the announcements are being made only before the elections,” the AIMIM chief said.
Union minister for minority affairs Kiren Rijiju, who delivered the chadar on the PM’s behalf, emphasised its message of harmony. “The PM’s message is clear: every religion should work together for peace,” Rijiju said during the ceremonial offering. When asked about petitions claiming that the Dargah was built over a Shiva temple he said: “I have come here only to offer the chadar.”
“I have not come here to show or tell anyone, I am going with the message (of PM) for the country that all the people in our country should stay well,” he told news agency PTI.
This is not the first time Owaisi has voiced concerns about religious disputes. In an earlier parliamentary speech, he condemned the alleged manipulation of history to fuel communal tensions, referring to petitions against historic sites and laws targeting minority practices. He questioned, “If I dig here in Parliament and find something, will that mean the Parliament is mine?”
