Rijiju vs Owaisi: Sparks fly over minority rights; BJP leaders slam ‘divisive politics’

New Delhi: A war of words has erupted between Union Minister Kiren Rijiju and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi over the issue of minority rights. The political slugfest began after, Rijiju, in an interview with a national daily said that “India is the only country where minorities get more benefits and protection than the majority community.”

Sharing the excerpts of the interview on X, Rijiju reignited the long-standing debate on minority appeasement versus equality.

AIMIM chief Owaisi hit back sharply, saying, “These are rights, not charity,” accusing the BJP of portraying constitutional safeguards as handouts.

Reacting strongly to Owaisi’s remarks, BJP National General Secretary Tarun Chugh told IANS on Tuesday, “Owaisi’s statements are provocative and polarising. Under Prime Minister Modi, the last 11 years have been about ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayas’. But leaders like Owaisi see everything through a communal lens. This is nothing but vote bank politics.”

Former Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi echoed similar sentiments.

Speaking to IANS, he said, “In the last 11 years of PM Modi’s leadership, polarisation politics has come to an end. Government schemes have reached every needy Indian without discrimination. But during election time, some leaders fuel polarisation to remain politically relevant.”

He further added, “Earlier governments used minorities only for votes but did nothing for their uplift. It’s high time such politics is wiped out from India. These people thrive on divisive narratives.”

Chugh, too, lashed out at what he termed as ‘selective secularism’ practiced by certain parties, claiming, “The Opposition doesn’t want people to unite. They thrive on creating social divides and confusion, just like what is happening in Bihar over the Special Intensive Revision. Instead of promoting people to cast their votes, they are creating confusion in the minds of voters and are thereby discouraging them to not cast their votes.”

Meanwhile, Congress MP Imran Masood stirred a fresh controversy claiming that the Waqf Act would be scrapped within an hour if the Congress returns to power at the Centre.

Reacting with sarcasm, Naqvi said, “It will take at least 100 years for the Congress to come back to power. Let them keep dreaming.”

IANS