AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his ‘no discrimination in India’ remark during US visit. Attacking the PM, Owaisi claimed that 300 churches were burnt in Manipur and asked if it was not discrimination, The Lok Sabha MP questioned if asking Muslims to leave Uttarkashi was not discrimination. He also raked up the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), and other issues to counter PM’s ‘no discrimination’ statement.
"Three hundred churches were burnt in Manipur, isn't that a discrimination? The CAA was made by the Modi government on the basis of religion while Maulana Azad Fellowship Scheme (implemented by UGC for the students of Muslim, Sikh, Parsi, Buddhist, Christian and Jain minority communities) was scrapped…all these steps are a sign of discrimination," Owaisi said during a speech and posted the video on Twitter.
The response came after Prime Minister Modi was asked during a joint presser held with US President Joe Biden in the White House, about the steps taken by his government to protect the rights of Muslims and other minorities.
The PM in his response said that "democracy runs in our veins" and added that India does not discriminate on the basis of religion or caste. He also invoked his party, BJP’s slogan “sabka saath, sabka vikas."
Owaisi said that PM answered a direct question from the media for the first time in his nine years of rule.
Notably, during Modi's visit, around 75 US Senators and Congressional lawmakers wrote to Biden over their concerns on the alleged human rights issues in India under the Modi government. Former US resident Barack Obama also called for the protection of the rights of ethnic minorities in India, which has drawn sharp criticism from several ministers.