AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has taken a swipe at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the unrest in Bareilly. Speaking at an event in Shaikpet, Jubilee Hills, he said that one can say “I love Modi” in India but not “I love Muhammad”, before asking, “Where are you taking this nation?”

‘Can say I love Modi but not I love Muhammad’

“In this country, one can say ‘I love Modi’ but not ‘I love Mohammad’. Where are you taking this nation? If someone says ‘I love Modi’, the media also becomes happy. If someone says ‘I love Mohammad’, then that is objected to,” he said from stage after inaugurating seven development projects worth Rs 9.97 crore in Shaikpet Division, Jubilee Hills.

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He condemned the violence in the Uttar Pradesh city that is currently on high alert, with Internet services suspended. 

According to the notification issued by the home department, which PTI quoted, the Internet, broadband and SMS services are suspended in the city from 3 pm on October 2 to 3 pm on October 4, to maintain peace and order. 

Bareilly, Shahjahanpur, Pilibhit and Budaun are on high alert after the September 26 unrest. After the unrest and with so much happening in the city in Uttar Pradesh, the senior-most cleric of the Ala Hazrat Dargah in Bareilly has appealed to Muslims to return home peacefully after Friday prayers. The administration has deployed PAC and RAF personnel, while drones are also in place to monitor the areas. 

‘Police accountable to those in power’

Owaisi also quoted some clips alleging police lathi-charged on people and some shopkeepers showered flowers on them, adding that police remain accountable to those in power.

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“No one was named Mohammad other than the Prophet Mohammad. If you install his posters, you have to respect them… I want to ask the government why they are making so many laws, and what is happening?” Owaisi asked.

Earlier, Owaisi reacted to the row over the posters in Kanpur, asking, “If there is an ‘I Love Mahadev’ group, then what is the problem? What is anti-national here? What sort of violence does this promote? If the word is ‘love’, then why is anyone having a problem?”

He further asked, “A Muslim’s faith is not complete until he loves Prophet Muhammad more than everything else in the world. What message are you sending to the world by objecting to this?”