Asaduddin Owaisi questions 'silence' of PM Narendra Modi over Dadri killing

GREATER NOIDA: Asaduddin Owaisi, leader of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), on Friday took on BJP and Samajwadi Party and held them responsible for the death of Mohammed Akhlaq, who was lynched by a mob after rumours that his family had slaughtered a cow. "The PM tweeted and paid homage on the demise of Asha Bhosle's son but didn't bother to do so for Akhlaq," Owaisi said in Dadri's Bisada village when he had gone to visit the man's family.

Speaking to journalists, he maintained that the attack was planned and was a part of a conspiracy to tear apart India's secular fabric. "You cannot barge into a house and assault people. This type of mindset goes against the concept of secularism in India," he said.

Attacking the PM, Owaisi said Modi had remained silent and had "no time to condole Akhlaq's death". The attack was not merely about cow slaughter, but the victims were attacked because they were Muslims, he claimed. He charged the PM with failing to live up to his call of 'sabka saath sabka vikas'.

He said that instead of punishing those responsible, BJP was passing it off as an "accident" and supporting the accused and demanding their release. Such people should not question secular credentials of Indian Muslims, he said.

He described as intellectually dishonest GB Nagar MP and union minister Mahesh Sharma who labelled the lynching as a "misunderstanding" on Thursday.

Owaisi also launched a broadside at Samajwadi Party and said that instead of standing by Akhlaq's family, the state had "sent samples of meat allegedly found in the house for forensic tests" to determine their nature. "There is need to carry out a forensic test on the brains of SP leaders," he said sarcastically, before criticizing Uttar Pradesh minister Azam Khan for failing to mete justice to Muslim victims of the Muzaffarnagar riots of 2013.

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and others including Manish Sisodia and Kumar Vishwas will visit Bisada on Saturday.