NEW DELHI: All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Asaduddin Owaisi has said that the Modi-led Indian government is trying to snatch away Waqf properties and give them to the Hindutva majority.
Asaduddin Owaisi made these remarks during a discussion on the Constitution in the lower house of the Indian parliament.
Owaisi said that, “Today, I am being asked if there was a mosque or not 500 years ago. They are saying there was no Khwaja Ajmeri dargah. If I dig up this Parliament, and something is found, will it be mine? You tell me. See what is being propagated.”
Owaisi said that the Indian constitution has given rights to all religious denominations to establish and maintain institutions for religious charitable purposes but Narendra Modi says that Waqf has nothing to do with the Constitution.
Owaisi said that when constituencies for Parliament and state Assemblies were drawn, it was ensured that the Muslim minorities find it difficult to win, and it was made easy for majority community candidates.
Owaisi also said that the Hindu nationalist governments are trying to finish the Urdu language in the country and promote Hindutva culture. BJP is not for cultural nationalism, but it is the cultural nationalism of Hindutva which has no connection with the nationalism of India.
Students from IIOJK protest in New Delhi against reservation policy
Students from occupied Jammu and Kashmir staged a peaceful protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, opposing the Modi regime’s current reservation policy in the territory.
The sit-in organized under the banner of Jammu and Kashmir Studetn Association (JKSA) drew participation from students, political leaders and civil society activists who decried the policy’s impact on merit-based opportunities.
Led by JKSA Convenor Nasir Khuehami, the protest highlighted concerns about the reservation policy’s fairness. Khuehami argued that the current framework undermines merit and fails to reflect Jammu and Kashmir’s demographic realities. “We demand a rationalized, proportional reservation system based on population demographics to ensure justice and fairness,” he said.
Prominent participants included Awami Ittehad Party leader Sheikh Aashiq, Kashmiri Pandit and AIPC President Sanjay Sapru, and student activist Mir Mujeeb. They emphasized the need for equitable opportunities for the youth while reiterating their support for a balanced reservation policy.