'Godse, Apte Ki Aulad': Owaisi's Jibe At BJP After Maharashtra Deputy CM's 'Aurangzeb' Remark

Referring to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' remark saying "Aurangzeb ki aulad" (children of Aurangzeb), Owaisi asked the BJP who is "Godse ki aulad".

All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi addressed a public gathering in Hyderabad on Thursday.

Source : Twitter/@aimim_national

All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi on Thursday attacked the BJP on the issue of violence in Kolhapur, love jihad, and others, alleging that the party is spreading hatred and defaming Muslims. Referring to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' remark saying "Aurangzeb ki aulad" (children of Aurangzeb), Owaisi asked BJP who is "Godse ki aulad". Owaisi referred to the violence in Kolhapur and said that "RSS people" hit the streets in the city after "someone carried a photo of Tipu Sultan".

Taking a swipe at the BJP at a public meeting in Hyderabad late Thursday night, he said BJP and the Centre should release a list banning names like Tipu, Aurangzeb, and Babur, like the ban on 44 organisations under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

The remark came in the wake of the controversy that erupted after the Kolhapur violence in Maharashtra, where a protest against alleged objectionable social media posts on Aurangzeb and Tipu Sultan turned violent.

"Maharashtra's Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis said 'Aurangzeb ke aulaad.' Do you know everything? I didn't know you (Fadnavis) were such an expert. Then you should know who the children of Godse and Apte too, who are they?" Owaisi asked.

Ek Deputy Chief Minister @Dev_Fadnavis ki ye kaisi zaban hai pic.twitter.com/r8t45MtCDg

— Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) June 9, 2023

Nathuram Godse and Narayan Apte were executed by hanging for their role in the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. 

Earlier, Fadnavis, in response to the Kolhapur clashes, said: "Suddenly, in some districts of Maharashtra, sons of Aurangzeb took birth. They keep the status of Aurangzeb and show their posters. Because of this, there are tensions. Questions arise, where do these sons of Aurangzeb come from? Who are behind this? We will find this out."

In his public address. Owaisi cited a Maharashtra minister as having said that 21 people have been nabbed and asked "If keeping a photo is a crime, say what section of IPC (it was)?"

Further attacking the BJP, he said the party should state that it will not include the names of Godse in the "prohibited list of names".

"Now, the matter has come to names also," he said, as quoted by news agency PTI.

Owaisi On 'Love Jihad' In Maharashtra

On the issue of alleged 'love jihad', the Hyderabad MP stated that a number of such incidents and other details should be released if 'love jihad' is happening in Maharashtra.

"If love jihad is happening in Maharashtra, give an estimate, a number, that this (incident) happened in Ahmednagar, this is what happened in Kolhapur, Sangli, western Maharashtra, Marathwada. Say that. (But) nothing. Love jihad is happening. Where is it happening," he remarked.

He went on to claim that the BJP government organised 50 meetings in Maharashtra "only to spread hatred, to defame Muslims, Islam".

Alleging a conspiracy to organise riots in Maharashtra before the parliament elections, he praised his party MP from Aurangabad (Sambhajinagar) Imtiaz Jaleel for reportedly "protecting" a temple by standing in front of it for three hours when there was an alleged attempt to trigger trouble in the town.

He said the Centre and BJP government in Maharashtra to stop such alleged incidents.

"It is another matter that you have to win parliament in Maharashtra. But, it will not be this way," he told the BJP.

The AIMIM president also criticised the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh for allegedly suspending a bus driver for halting a bus for "three minutes" to enable a Muslim man to perform prayer.

"If performing prayer is a crime, then there should not be religious symbols of anyone in total government offices," he said, as per PTI.

The BJP talks about 'sab ka saath, sab ka vikas, sab ka vishwas', but a bus driver is suspended for halting the bus for two minutes, he said. 

Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra questioned Owaisi while saying that any conspiracy for (religious) conversion will not be allowed in the state.

"Never heard (Asaduddin) Owaisi giving a statement on Sakshi (victim of Shahbad Dairy murder case) and Shraddha (Walkar),” the BJP leader said.