By Arpita Ghosh
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Sunday strongly objected to Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju鈥檚 claim that minorities in India receive more benefits and protections than the majority community, saying that India’s minorities are no longer even 鈥渟econd-class citizens鈥 but “hostages”. Rijiju made the comments while sharing an interview with a national daily on social media. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, he wrote, 鈥淚NDIA is the only country where the minorities get more benefits and protections than the majority community!鈥 Responding to this, Owaisi posted a lengthy statement on X, accusing Rijiju of disregarding constitutional values and denying the lived reality of India鈥檚 minorities. 鈥淵ou are a Minister of the Indian Republic, not a monarch. @KirenRijiju You hold a constitutional post, not a throne. Minority rights are fundamental rights, not charity,鈥 Owaisi said. 鈥淚s it a 鈥榖enefit鈥 to be called Pakistani, Bangladeshi, jihadi, or Rohingya every single day? Is it 鈥榩rotection鈥 to be lynched? Is it protection that Indian citizens were kidnapped and pushed into Bangladesh?鈥 he wrote. 鈥淚s it a privilege to watch our homes, masjids, and mazaars being bulldozed illegally? To be made socially, politically, and economically invisible? Is it an 鈥榟onour鈥 to be the target of hate speeches from no less than the Prime Minister of India?鈥 he added. 鈥淚ndia鈥檚 minorities are not even second-class citizens anymore. We are hostages,鈥 Owaisi said. The Hyderabad MP also criticised government policies and legislative changes, accusing the Modi administration of systematically defunding and dismantling programs meant for Muslim welfare. 鈥淚f you want to talk about 鈥榝avours鈥, answer this: can Muslims be members of Hindu Endowment Boards? No. But your Waqf Amendment Act forces non-Muslims onto Waqf Boards 鈥 and allows them to form a majority,鈥 Owaisi said. 鈥淵ou discontinued the Maulana Azad National Fellowship. You defunded the pre-matric scholarship. You limited the post-matric and merit-cum-means scholarships. All because they benefited Muslim students,鈥 the AIMIM chief added. 鈥淢uslims are now the only group whose numbers have fallen in higher education. Their presence in the informal economy has gone up. They have been among the worst-hit by your economic policies. This is your own govt鈥檚 data,鈥 he wrote. 鈥淚ndian Muslims are the only group whose children are now worse off than their parents or grandparents. Intergenerational mobility has reversed. Muslim-concentrated areas are the ones most starved of public infrastructure and basic services,鈥 Owaisi added. He further stated, 鈥淲e are not asking to be compared with other minorities of other countries. We are not asking for more than what the majority community gets. We are demanding what the Constitution promises: social, economic, and political justice.鈥 Rijiju responded to Owaisi鈥檚 remarks later in the day, reiterating his earlier point. 鈥淥k… How come Minorities from our neighbouring countries prefer to come to India & our Minorities don’t migrate? Prime Minister @narendramodi ji鈥檚 welfare schemes are for all. The schemes of the Ministry of Minority Affairs provide additional benefits to the Minorities,鈥 he replied on X.