Hyderabad: Muslims in the country should not worry about the BJP returning to power because the Constitution guarantees freedom of religion to every citizen, news agency PTI quoted AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi as saying today.
According to the news agency, the politician said this in his address to a gathering at Makkah Masjid in Hyderabad today. "India's laws and Constitution give us the permission to follow our religion. When India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi can go to a temple, you can also proudly visit a mosque," he was quoted as saying.
Asaduddin Owaisi, who was re-elected from Hyderabad for the fourth consecutive term, said Muslims should not be considered as tenants in the country. "Muslims are hissedaar (shareholders) and not kirayedaar (tenants) in India. They are equal citizens of this country and can't be denied the rights guaranteed to them by the Constitution," news agency IANS reported him as saying.
The ruling BJP won 303 seats, taking the National Democratic Alliance's count to 353, in the just-concluded Lok Sabha elections. The Congress-led alliance, on the other hand, could barely gather 91. The AIMIM managed two Lok Sabha seats.
Asaduddin Owaisi also hit out at those behind the Easter Sunday serial bomb blasts in Sri Lanka, which killed over 250 people. "Carrying out bomb blasts at somebody else's place of worship and killing hundreds, including 40 innocent children... what Islam are you talking about?" he asked. "Such people follow the teachings of the Devil and not Islam."
Terror outfit ISIS had claimed responsibility for the attack.
(With inputs from Agencies)