MIM president Asaduddin Owaisi questions NDA over Kovind's candidature

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president and Hyderabad Member of Parliament Asaduddin Owaisi on Friday questioned the NDA for choosing Ram Nath Kovind as the Presidential candidate.

“In 2010, Kovind had said that ‘Islam and Christians are alien to the nation. How can such a person be a nominee for the post of the President of the country?” Owaisi asked.

Addressing a gathering at the Youmul Quran programme held here at the historic Mecca Masjid after Friday prayers, Owaisi said that when AIMIM was contesting elections in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, the powers there had apprehensions. “What will happen to secularism, they had said then. Now I am asking the same question to them,” he said.

Assuring Muslims that they have nothing to fear, Asad questioned PM Narendra Modi as to why he was not controlling the `gau



rakshaks'. He named Pehlu Khan and a few others who fell prey to increasing incidents of cow vigilantism recently . Muslims have sacrificed their lives for the freedom of the country , he said.

“Mr Modi, why are you unable to stop these gau rakshaks? What do you want? You have spoken about it only once, but do you think that's enough? Don't you have the courage to stop them?“ he asked. He claimed that lynchings have been happening in the name of Swachh Bharat and pointed out the death of Zafar Khan in Rajasthan. Asad held civic officials responsible for this.

He added that Modi had tweeted about terror attacks in foreign countries, but had not said anything about the lynching of Zafar Khan or Pehlu Khan.“There will be peace and harmony in the country only when there is rule of law. If this does not happen, anarchy will continue,“ he said.