Owaisi & Rijiju engage in public spat over ‘benefits & protection' to minorities under Modi govt

The Print

5 days ago

The row over minorities and their welfare in the country under the Narendra Modi-led NDA government also comes ahead of the crucial Bihar assembly polls to be held in 3-4 months. In Bihar too, the NDA is in power, under the leadership of CM Nitish Kumar. Muslims constitute around 17 percent of Bihar's population, one of the highest proportions in the country.
Owaisi's argument with the BJP leader over Muslims under Modi rule comes at a time when the Hyderabad MP was seen as having embraced the Centre's stance against Pakistan post Pahalgam.
Hyderabad: AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi got into a public spat on Monday with Union Minister for Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju, contesting the latter's claim that minorities get more benefits and protection than the majority community in the country.
'India is the only country where minorities get more benefits and protections than the majority community!', declared Rijiju in a post on X on Monday morning, quoting his interview to a news publication.
Owaisi, the Hyderabad MP, responded with a lengthy, anguished post in the afternoon, terming the religious minority group as having become 'hostages' in the country.
'Is it a 'benefit' to be called Pakistani, Bangladeshi, jihadi, or Rohingya every single day? Is it 'protection' to be lynched? Is it protection that Indian citizens were kidnapped and pushed into Bangladesh? Is it a privilege to watch our homes, masjids, and mazaars being bulldozed illegally? To be made socially, politically, and economically invisible? Is it an 'honour' to be the target of hate speeches from no less than the Prime Minister of India? India's minorities are not even second-class citizens anymore. We are hostages.'
You are a Minister of the Indian Republic, not a monarch. @KirenRijiju You hold a constitutional post, not a throne. Minority rights are fundamental rights, not charity.
Is it a 'benefit' to be called Pakistani, Bangladeshi, jihadi, or Rohingya every single day? Is it… https://t.co/G1dgmvj6Gl
— Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) July 7, 2025
Owaisi accused the Modi government of discontinuing the Maulana Azad National Fellowship and limiting other scholarships 'because they benefited Muslim students'.
The AIMIM chief also mentioned the controversial Waqf Amendment Act in a bid to debunk the senior BJP leader's claim.
'If you want to talk about 'favours', answer this: Can Muslims be members of Hindu Endowment Boards? No. But your Waqf Amendment Act forces non-Muslims on to Waqf Boards—and allows them to form a majority.'
Within an hour, the minister responded with a counter question: 'Ok… How come minorities from our neighbouring countries prefer to come to India & our minorities don't migrate? Prime Minister Modi's welfare schemes are for all,' Rijiju said, insisting that the 'schemes of the Ministry of Minority Affairs provide additional benefits to minorities'.
The bitter spat between the BJP minister and the AIMIM MP, a prominent face representing Muslims, comes at a time when the latter emerged as a poster boy for the Hindu Right, after his feisty defence of India and the Modi government during Operation Sindoor.
Long branded as 'BJP's B-team', the Hyderabad MP's strong attacks on Pakistan's leadership and him joining a delegation of MPs to diplomatically defend Modi government's operation abroad further expanded the impression in political circles, especially those championing Muslim demands and issues.
One such party, the RJD, has recently spurned the AIMIM's offer to join forces for the Bihar polls, with party MP Manoj Kumar Jha stating that Owaisi's base is limited to Hyderabad.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
Also read: Even the Right loves Asaduddin Owaisi post-Op Sindoor. Why 'secular' camp won't embrace him yet