Asaduddin Owaisi hints at launching 'Jail bharo andolan' against CAA

Hyderabad: AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi on Sunday hinted at the possibility of a nation-wide 'jail bharo andolan' as part of the ongoing protests against the CAA, the NRC and the NPR.

Addressing a meeting of women, the Hyderabad MP said the country's jail will prove insufficient to keep the protestors.

"We want to tell (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi that a time will come when we will decide launching jail bharo andolan," he said.

Owaisi pointed out that all the jails in the country can house only three lakh people.

"If we all come on roads, the jails will not be sufficient," he said.

The MP was addressing the meeting organised by United Muslim Action Committee, of which his All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) is a part.

Owaisi said those criticising the Prime Minister were being booked for sedition.

He shared at the meeting impressions of his visit to a jail in Karnataka's Bidar to meet two women arrested in a sedition case booked against a school for staging a play against CAA and NRC.

He pointed out that headmistress and mother of a



girl student, who was part of the play, were arrested and sent to jail.

The MP said the headmistress is unwell. The student's mother is a widow and her six-year-old daughter is being looked after by her house owner.

Owaisi said while these women were arrested and jailed on serious charges, nothing was done against a Union Minister who raised slogans of 'goli maro'.

The MP said as a result of this slogan a terrorist opened fire on Jamila Millia Islamia students, injuring a student on January 30 while another terrorist opened fire in the air at Shaheen Bagh on Saturday.

"The terrorist was raising slogan that this is the country of Hindus. I want to say that this is not the country of Hindus or Muslims or Christians. It is not the country of people of any one religion. This is the country of even those who don't believe in any religion," Owaisi said.

The MP said the fight against CAA was aimed at saving this country from Hindutva ideology.

Women leaders of various organisations condemned the highhanded attitude of Hyderabad police and sought Owaisi's help for staging Shaheen Bagh-like protests in Hyderabad.