AIMIM president and Lok Sabha MP Asaduddin Owaisi has taken strong exception to remarks by RSS Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat in an interview to Organiser and Panchajanya on Tuesday. Bhagwat said in the interview that there was no threat to Muslims living in India, but they must shun their “claim to supremacy” narrative.
“Who is Mohan to give Muslims “permission” to live in India or follow our faith? We’re Indians because Allah willed it. How dare he put “conditions” on our citizenship? We’re not here to “adjust” our faith or please a bunch of alleged celibates in Nagpur,” Owaisi tweeted on Wednesday.
Coming down heavily on Bhagwat over his remarks, Asaduddin Owaisi said the RSS can’t say ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ for the world if it is busy building divides in our own country. “There are enough Hindus who feel the boisterous rhetoric of supremacy of RSS, leave alone how every minority feels,” Owaisi said.
He also took on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and questioned why he hugs all Muslim world leaders but not in India. “Why does PM hug all Muslim leaders of other countries but is never seen hugging a single Muslim in his own country?”
Referring to Bhagwat’s remarks that Hindus have been at war for over a thousand years and that RSS has been a part of the awakening of the Hindu society, Owaisi said such statements amounted to hate speech.
“What is this awakening and war stuff if not rhetoric and hate speech?” Owaisi further asked.
Bhagwat also said in the interview that Muslims can remain loyal to their faith or return to the “faith of their ancestors” if they wish to. “The simple truth is this – Hindustan should remain Hindustan. There is no harm in Muslims living today in Bharat. If they wish to stick to their faith, they can. If they want to return to the faith of their ancestors, they may. It is entirely their choice. There is no such stubbornness among Hindus. Islam has nothing to fear. But at the same time, Muslims must abandon their boisterous rhetoric of supremacy,” the RSS chief said.
Bhagwat further said that the newfound aggression among Hindus is a result of their awakening to the reality that they have been at war for over a thousand years. “It is natural for those at war to be aggressive,” the RSS chief said in the interview.
The RSS chief also cautioned against the enemy within and said it was important for the Hindu society to realise that the war today is not against forces outside, but against those within India.