'Don't Need Your Certificate To Prove My Patriotism': Owaisi Hits Out At TV Anchor, BJP

The Chief of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) and Member of Parliament (MP) from Hyderabad, Asaduddin Owaisi, gave a befitting response after he was asked to prove his 'patriotism' by Hindi news channel Aaj Tak's anchor, Anjana Om Kashyap.

In Friday night debate on the results of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), between BJP's National Spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi and Owaisi, the Hyderabad MP was asked if he could prove his patriotism to which he replied, "Even after I go, you will keep asking 10 generations after me to prove their patriotism. Get lost. I'm not keen on getting a certificate of patriotism from them. I keep their certificate under my shoe. I am loyal to India and will always remain so."

After Anjana asked about the recent comments of the BJP Telangana Chief, Bandi Sanjay Kumar, on surgical strikes in Hyderabad and whether the people who voted for Owaisi were Indian or not, the BJP leader Sudhanshu claimed that the ideology of Jinnah had still prevailed in the country as many Muslims still voted for the Muslim League. Further in the debate, when Owaisi was asked for proofs, he asked, "How many Muslims voted for Muslim League? Was there universal suffrage that every Muslim could vote? Only those with land and wealth could vote. And only those voted for the league and they went to Pakistan. Why don't you tell the full story and tell only half the story and half of history? If Muslims had universal suffrage, no one would have backed Jinnah."

"I just want to say that when you see a Muslim, please change your mindset. India's Constitution grants me the freedom of expression. Please feel free to follow your religion, but please understand that you can't force anyone to do anything. I will stand for the national anthem, I will respect those who say 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' and I will stand side by side with those who read Vande Mataram," Owaisi added.

Owaisi gained a lot of support from the Netizens for his reply to the Hindi news channel anchor. Many went ahead to say, "No Indian Muslim or any Indian for that matter, needs to prove his/her patriotism to ANYONE EVER!"

In the recent GHMC elections, BJP gained 48 seats while AIMIM got 44 seats. The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) became the single largest party to win 55 seats, the Congress could only win 2 seats.

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