Hyderabad MP and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday slammed Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju for claiming that India offers more benefits to minorities than to the majority community. Responding to Rijiju’s recent remarks in an Indian Express interview, Owaisi said minority rights in India are “fundamental rights, not charity”.
“You hold a constitutional post, not a throne,” Owaisi said in a strongly worded response on X. He was reacting to Rijiju’s claim that “India is the only country where minorities get more benefits and protections than the majority”.
The BJP minister had stated that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, the government follows the principle of “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayas” and that minorities receive more government support than Hindus. “Whatever the Hindus get, the minorities also do. But what the minorities get, the Hindus don’t,” Rijiju told the IE.
‘Is it protection to be lynched’, Owaisi asks Rijiju
Owaisi, however, dismantled that narrative in a detailed post, asking whether being labelled “Pakistani, Bangladeshi, jihadi or Rohingya every single day” qualifies as a benefit. “Is it “protection” to be lynched? Is it protection that Indian citizens were kidnapped and pushed into Bangladesh? Is it a privilege to watch our homes, masjids, and mazaars being bulldozed illegally? To be made socially, politically, and economically invisible?” he posted.
He further hit out at Rijiju’s comment as insensitive, asking, “How is it an honour to be the target of hate speeches from no less than the Prime Minister of India?” He asserted that minorities were not demanding special treatment but only what is promised by the Constitution – “social, economic and political justice”.
You are a Minister of the Indian Republic, not a monarch. @KirenRijiju You hold a constitutional post, not a throne. Minority rights are fundamental rights, not charity.
— Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) July 7, 2025
Is it a “benefit” to be called Pakistani, Bangladeshi, jihadi, or Rohingya every single day? Is it… https://t.co/G1dgmvj6Gl
Taking aim at government policies, Owaisi highlighted in the same post about the discontinuation of the Maulana Azad National Fellowship and cuts in scholarships benefitting Muslim students. “You defunded the pre-matric scholarship. You limited the post-matric and merit-cum-means scholarships. All because they benefited Muslim students,” he alleged.
He also criticised the Waqf Amendment Act, accusing it of diluting Muslim representation on Waqf Boards by allowing non-Muslim members to form a majority, while Muslims are not allowed on Hindu Endowment Boards.
Rijiju responds, Owaisi hits back
Rijiju, responding to Owaisi’s remarks, questioned why minorities from neighbouring countries migrate to India if they were being mistreated. “PM Modi’s welfare schemes are for all. The schemes of the Ministry of Minority Affairs provide additional benefits to the minorities,” he wrote.
Owaisi responded, “We are not in the habit of fleeing. We did not run from the British, or during Partition, or after the massacres of Jammu, Nellie, Gujarat, Moradabad, Delhi, etc. Our history is proof we neither collaborate with our oppressors nor hide from them.”
Ending his rebuttal, the AIMIM chief wrote, “Stop comparing our great nation with failed states like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. Jai Hind, Jai Samvidhan! Thank you for your attention in this matter!”