AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has lashed out at the Modi government, saying that the Prime Minister was sending mixed signals while sending ‘chadar’ to Ajmer Sharif even when Sangh Parivar sympathisers were demanding excavations at the dargah.
Union Minister for minority affairs Kiran Rijiju offered the ceremonial ‘chadar’ sent by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the occasion of Urs of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti. Later, he also read out a message from the Prime Minister urging people to live in harmony.
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However, the AIMIM chief slammed the BJP and the Prime Minister and said that offering the ‘chadar’ was futile when party supporters and sympathisers failed to abide by the Places of Worship Act and questioned every structure.
“In the entire country, the BJP-Sangh Parivar and their organisations are approaching court urging excavations, claiming this is not a mosque, nor a dargah or graveyard. If the Prime Minister had wanted, he could have stopped them… So, there is no point in sending a chadar. Anyone can send a chadar. A government does not just send a chadar; it also sends a message to that community. You are offering the chadar because you recognise it as a dargah. But your supporters are saying it is not a dargah. This should be stopped,” said Owaisi. In November last year, a petition was filed in court against the dargah at Ajmer, claiming there was a Shiva temple beneath it. Owaisi also said that there were at least seven such cases in Uttar Pradesh, a BJP-ruled state, which also includes the Prime Minister’s home constituency, Varanasi.
He also slammed the AAP in Delhi, saying that there has been no development or establishment of schools in minority-dominated constituencies and that garbage was piled up in areas inhabited by minority residents. Owaisi also took a swipe at the Prime Minister over China when he asked about India’s strong protest against Chinese aggression in Ladakh. He said the Centre was scared of China and was seeking Chinese investment.