If you care for minorities, ensure Muslims aren't lynched: Owaisi jabs Modi

Hyderabad: AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi lashed out at the Prime Minister for his "minorities made to live in an illusion of fear" statement and said if Modi really cares about minorities then he should ensure that Muslims are not lynched by cow vigilantes.

"As given in our Constitution, Right to Life is for human beings and not animals. I am sure that if Prime Minister realises it, then fear among minorities will go away," said Asaduddin Owaisi.

The newly-elected MP from Hyderabad also cited an incident of Madhya Pradesh's Seoni wherein three youths were thrashed, allegedly over suspicion of possessing beef.

"If Prime Minister seriously believes that minorities live in fear then will he stop all mob-lynching gangs who in the name of cow killing, lynch Muslims, beat them, take out their videos and demean Muslims. What happened in Madhya Pradesh is an example," he said.

Intensifying his attack, he questioned the Prime Minister over mob-lynching cases.

"If PM agrees minorities live in fear he should know people who killed Akhlaq were sitting in the front bench of the electoral public meeting," Owaisi remarked.

"If Muslims seriously live in fear can the Prime Minister tell us, out of the 300 odd MPs, how many Muslim MPs he has in his own party who got elected from Lok Sabha? This is the hypocrisy and contradiction which the PM and his party are practising from last 5 years," the AIMIM chief said.

While addressing the newly-elected members of Parliament, after being elected as leader of BJP-led NDA, Narendra Modi on Saturday sought to reach out to minorities saying there will be no discrimination against anyone on the basis of caste, sect, and religion and gave a new slogan of "trust of all".

Modi said political parties in the past played deceit on minorities who were used for vote bank politics.

"They were kept in illusion, the climate of fear and insecurity. They were misled by deceit. It would have been better if they were given education so that some good leaders emerged from the community, which could have become equal to other sections," said Modi.

"But for the sake of vote bank politics, they were kept away from everything. Today I appeal to all that we have to break that deceit on minorities. We have to gain their trust. We have to move shoulder to shoulder without discriminating on the basis of caste, sect and religion. We are for 130 crore people. These should be our priorities and responsibility. 'Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas aur ab Sabka Vishwas (Everyone's support, everyone's development and now everyone's trust). This is our mantra. I will leave no stone unturned and I will work for all citizens of India," he said.