Owaisi opposes taking UP man's lynching issue to UN

Hyderabad: AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday opposed Uttar Pradesh minister Azam Khan's move to take the lynching of a Muslim man over rumours that he ate beef to the United Nations.

The All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief told reporters here that if Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav supports Khan's statement, the SP government in Uttar Pradesh should resign and President's rule should be imposed. The Hyderabad MP said the incident in Uttar Pradesh's Greater Noida village is an internal matter of India and that Muslims can never fight with the country.

"What message the Samajwadi Party is giving. I have no complaint against Azam Khan but I want to ask Mulayam Singh Yadav, who served as the country's defence minister, what is his view on the statement made by a senior leader of his party." "Does he think that his Samajwadi Party can't run the government in Uttar Pradesh. Why did you take oath on the constitution," he said and demanded the SP chief to respond.

Owaisi made it clear that their fight is with governments like the SP government who are failing to fulfill their constitutional duty to protect people. On BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi's statement promising a ban on beef in Bihar, Owaisi pointed out that cow slaughter is banned in that state since 1955. He said this shows that they are not bothered about development but want to raise such issues to get votes.

"Bihar people have nothing to do with beef ban or cow slaughter. Why debate cow slaughter, talk about the human beings. They expect development, drinking water and eradication of poverty especially in Seemanchal, which is the most backward region," said Owaisi's whose party is contesting six seats in Bihar.

On Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's statement that Dadri like incidents hurt India's image, the MP said the question was not of image but of "our morals and moral duty". "What is your government and your party doing. The cultural minister says it is an accident. The cabinet should speak in one voice. Start respecting human life, the image of the country will automatically improve in the world," he said.

Owaisi demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should break his silence, condemn Dadri incident and condole the victim's family. "When the prime minister can tweet to condole death of Asha Bhosle's son, why can't he condole the death of the father of a man who is working to protect the borders of our country," he asked.
PTI