AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Thursday claimed that while people in India can openly declare “I love Modi,” but not “I love Mohammad”. His comments came amid the controversy surrounding posters and placards with “I Love Mohammad” written on them, which recently sparked violent protests in Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly.
Speaking at a public meeting in Hyderabad, Owaisi said, “In this country, one can say ‘I love Modi’ but not ‘I love Mohammad’. Where are you taking this nation? If someone says ‘I love Modi’, the media also becomes happy. If someone says ‘I love Mohammad’, then that is objected to.”
He further asserted, “If someone says ‘I love Mohammad’, then that is objected to. If I am a Muslim, it is because of Muhammad. There is nothing above and beyond that for the 17 crore Indians who participated in the country’s independence.”
#WATCH | Hyderabad, Telangana: AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi said, “A case is going on for the Sambhal mosque. Our mosques are being snatched away. In this country, one can say ‘I love Modi’ but not ‘I love Mohammad’. Where are you taking this nation? If someone says ‘I love… pic.twitter.com/jXyBW5C3tL
— ANI (@ANI) October 3, 2025
The controversy began on September 26, when protests broke out in Bareilly after demonstrators displayed “I Love Mohammad” posters outside Ala Hazrat Dargah and the residence of IMC chief Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan. The situation escalated as protestors clashed with police, pelting stones after Friday prayers.
Amid the violence, the Bareilly administration imposed a 48-hour suspension of mobile internet and broadband services from October 2, 3 PM to October 4, 3 PM, to control unrest.
Owaisi On Violence, Law, And Governance
While condemning the clashes, Owaisi also came down heavily on the government and police. Referring to videos from the protests, he said, “We condemn violence… There are videos in which police are lathi-charging and shopkeepers are showering flowers on them. We must keep in mind that the police are only accountable to those in power and no one else. They will beat you tomorrow when the power shifts.”
He also raised broader concerns, citing the displacement of Muslims in Assam. “I want to ask the government why they are making so many laws, and what is happening? 3000 Muslims in Assam were made homeless, claiming that the construction was on government land.”
Urging restraint, Owaisi appealed to people to remain within the boundaries of law. “We must not be bothered by the situation. We have to deal with patience. We must do everything within the law. Don’t take the law into your own hands. When you act within the law, you will realise that the law is just a spiderweb and nothing else,” he said.
The Uttar Pradesh Police have so far arrested 81 people linked to the protests. Among them are Ittehad-e-Millat Council (IMC) national general secretary Nafees Khan and his son Farman Khan, who allegedly managed the IMC’s Facebook page.
Bareilly SSP Anurag Arya said that during interrogation, the two admitted that “everyone was involved in the conspiracy.”
Meanwhile, the senior most cleric of Bareilly’s Ala Hazrat Dargah has appealed Muslims to return home peacefully after concluding their Friday prayers. PAC and RAF personnel have also been deployed as the situation in Bareilly remains tense.
