`Who is Mohan Bhagwat to give Muslims permission to live in India?`: Asaduddin Owaisi`s all-out attack on RSS chief

Mohan Bhagwat Muslim Remarks Row: The AIMIM chief even attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying, `Our PM hugs all Muslim leaders of other countries but never hugged a single Muslim in his own country.`

NEW DELHI: AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has reacted strongly to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s suggestion that Muslims have nothing to fear in India, but they must abandon their “boisterous rhetoric of supremacy”. Launching an all-out attack on the Sangh Parivar head, the AIMIM leader questions who is he (Bhagwat) to give “permission” to Muslims to live in India or follow their faith. In a series of tweets, the AIMIM Hyderabad MP said that Muslims are not “here to adjust” their faith or “please a bunch of alleged celibates” in Nagpur.

“Who is Mohan to give Muslims “permission” to live in India or follow our faith? We’re Indians because Allah willed it. How dare he put “conditions” on our citizenship? We’re not here to “adjust” our faith or please a bunch of alleged celibates in Nagpur,” he wrote on Twitter.

In one such tweet, Owaisi said, “There are enough Hindus who feel the Boisterous Rhetoric of Supremacy of RSS, leave alone how every minority feels. You can't say Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam for the world if you're busy building divides in your own country.”

He even attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying, ‘Our PM hugs all Muslim leaders of other countries but never hugged a single Muslim in his own country.”

In an interview with Organiser and Panchjanya, Bhagwat said, "The simple truth is this, Hindusthan should remain Hindusthan. There is no harm to the Muslims living today in Bharat... Islam has nothing to fear. But at the same time, Muslims must abandon their boisterous rhetoric of supremacy."

"We are of an exalted race; we once ruled over this land, and shall rule it again; only our path is right, rest everyone is wrong; we are different, therefore we will continue to be so; we cannot live together; they (Muslims) must abandon this narrative. In fact, all those who live here whether a Hindu or a communist must give up this logic," the RSS chief said.

Bhagwat also said the new-found aggression among Hindus the world over was due to an awakening in the society that has been at war for over 1,000 years. 

During the interview, Bhagwat also recalled that the Sangh was earlier seen with contempt, but those days were now over. "The thorns we encountered earlier on the road have changed their character. In the past, we had to brave the thorns of opposition and contempt. Those we could avoid. And at times we have avoided them too. But the new-found acceptance has brought us resources, convenience and abundance," he said.

However, Bhagwat’s remarks against Muslims have triggered sparked a political furore with Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal also taking a swipe at him by saying, "Hindusthan should remain Hindusthan" but ‘Insaan (human beings) should also remain Insaan". Reacting to his remarks, Sibal said on Twitter, "Bhagwat: 'Hindusthan should remain Hindusthan', Agree. But: Insaan should remain Insaan."