NEW DELHI: All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi claimed that while it is acceptable to declare “I love Modi” in the country it draws objections if one says “I love Mohammad”. His remarks came on Thursday at a public meeting in Hyderabad, against the backdrop of violent protests in Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly over “I Love Mohammad” posters.“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,” Owaisi said, as quoted by ANI.Also read: Bareilly on alert ahead of Friday prayers – Top developmentsHe added, “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.”The unrest in Bareilly began on September 26 when a protest outside Ala Hazrat Dargah over the posters escalated into stone-pelting against the police. Since then, the district has seen a heavy security clampdown. Internet and mobile services were suspended for 48 hours from 2 October to prevent the spread of rumours, while police and paramilitary forces were deployed across Bareilly and neighbouring districts. Owaisi, while condemning the violence, also accused the authorities of mishandling the situation. “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 said. He urged Muslims to respond with patience, stressing, “We must do everything within the law. Don’t take the law into your own hands.”The AIMIM chief also criticised the government’s record on law and order, pointing to recent demolitions and displacements. “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,” he said.Meanwhile, police have arrested 81 people in connection with the Bareilly clashes, including Ittehad-e-Millat Council (IMC) leader Nafees Khan and his son, Farman, who allegedly managed the organisation’s social media.
