All India Majilis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi has announced that a massive rally against Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) will be organised in Hyderabad on January 10, while he will unfurl the national flag at the city’s historic Charminar at midnight on January 25. Hours after the city witnessed huge turnout at ‘Million March’ organised by Joint Action Committee (JAC) of 40 different organisations, the Hyderabad MP said that the January 10 rally will begin from Mir Alam Eidgah and will conclude at Shastripuram grounds.
Owaisi said as the Telangana government denied permission for the rally in the city, they decided to hold the same in Rajendernagar (on the outskirts). He also announced that a huge public meeting will be held at Charminar on January 25 and at midnight he will unfurl the national flag and recite the national anthem to mark the Republic Day. He also said leading poets of the country would be invited for the event aimed to save the Constitution and the country. Owaisi made the announcement at Sangareddy town during a public meeting organised by United Muslim Action Committee (UMAC) to protest against the CAA.
He also asked people to make their selfie videos reading Preamble of the Constitution and demanding Prime Minister Narendra Modi to revoke the ‘black law’. “Post these videos on TikTok, Facebook and YouTube with hashtag Merasamvidhan,” he said. Owaisi called for continuing the protests against the CAA, National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR) in a peaceful manner. He said the protests should continue for another 4-5 months so that the rulers know that people have woken up. He also added that he saluted the Jamia Millia Islamia students for bringing a new life into the protest.
The MP condemned the excesses committed by Yogi government in Uttar Pradesh. He said the UP police resorted to worst form of brutalities including beating up of a 70-year-old religious scholar by making him naked and by sexually assaulting two 14-year-old boys. On the BJP government in UP seizing property of those allegedly involved in violence to recover the Rs 14 damages caused to public property, he asked why nothing was done to recover damages of Rs 2,000 crore during Jat agitation in Haryana and Patel agitation in Gujarat. “You recovered damages in UP only because they are Muslims,” he asked.
On Modi advising anti-CAA protestors to condemn Pakistan for its repression of minorities, Owaisi said people of India have nothing to do with Pakistan. “How are we concerned with Pakistan. We don’t even think of Pakistan even in our nightmares but you take the name of Pakistan frequently,” he said while reminding Modi that Muslim rejected Mohammed Ali Jinnah and choose to live in India. Owaisi also advised Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan to stop bothering about Indian Muslims saying Allah is enough for them. He slammed Khan for posting a fake video of Bangladesh. “You worry about your country. Mr Khan, we would like to tell you, don’t ever remember us. We rejected the message and wrong theory of Jinnah. We are proud Indian Muslims and will remain so till the end of this world.”
“No power on earth can take our Indianness and our religious identity because Constitution of India guarantees this,” he said and urged Pakistan PM to protect Sikhs and stop attacks on their place of worship. Reiterating that CAA is anti-Constitutional, Owaisi described it as a step towards making India a Hindu rashtra. He said while they were not against granting citizenship to persecuted people from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, he said this should not be done on the basis of religion. Stating that PRC is the first step towards NRC, he demanded Telagana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao to stay PRC as done by the Kerala government.
