AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi urged the central government on Saturday, to take steps for cancelling the bail of Swami Aseemanand, an accused in the 2007 Mecca Masjid blast case.
A day after Aseemanand walked out of Hyderabad jail, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) Member of Parliament told reporters that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government was adopting double standards in dealing with terrorism.
He alleged that the government is soft towards non-Muslims facing terrorism charges but tough towards Muslims.
He recalled that the BJP used to talk tough against terrorism and had even stated that it would not view the problem from a religious angle.
"Why so much love for Aseemanand. Cancel his bail. You can't take a rigid stand on one side and be soft on another side," Owaisi said.
The MP said Aseemanand had confessed his involvement in the Ajmer blast but after he was acquitted by a court, the BJP government did not file an appeal to challenge the verdict.
He remarked that 'acchey din' have come for Aseemanand and said 'acchey din' would also come now for Sadhvi Pragya and Colonel Purohit.
"When non-Muslims facing terrorism charges get bail, the government adopts silence but on the other hand Muslims facing similar charges have to spend 10 years in jail because they are not granted bail. This is great injustice," he said.
On Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's statement comparing 'Namaz' with 'Surya Namaskar', Owaisi said he should stop this 'drama baazi' (theatrics) and discharge his constitutional duty of doing justice to people.
He pointed out that 15 lakh people in Uttar Pradesh were on the verge of losing their livelihood due to closure of abattoirs.
The AIMIM chief said when millionaires hoarding black money could be given amnesty, why those engaged in the business for generations could not be given some time to streamline their operations.
He said the country earns Rs 36,000 crore through export of buffalo meat and Uttar Pradesh accounts for Rs 11,000 crore revenue. The MP said the export policy of the government also talks about promoting export of buffalo meat.
Owaisi alleged that the BJP is raising the issue of a beef ban in states where it suits its interests.
"In Uttar Pradesh, cow is mummy and in North East it's yummy because elections are scheduled to be held there next year," he said and pointed out that even in Goa, the BJP is not banning beef.
On Jammu and Kashmir, he said the misgovernance of the BJP-PDP government was responsible for the present situation in the border state.
He wanted the BJP to spell out its policy and wondered why it failed to crush terrorism which it had promised before elections.
On May 18, 2007, members belonging to the Hindu militant outfit Abhinav Bharat had allegedly placed two bombs in the Mecca Masjid, considered one of holiest Muslim sites in the city, during Friday prayers when thousands of people had gathered.
Nine persons were killed in the blast that shook the historic mosque in the city.
As news of the blast spread, tension escalated in Old City, especially the areas around Charminar, with many people taking to the streets, and turning into vandalising mobs, who clashed with the police.
The police resorted to lathi-charges, teargas shells, and firing in the air. Five more people were killed in subsequent police firing near the mosque.
Jatin Chatterjee aka Swami Aseemanand was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation in 2010.
Earlier associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, he is considered an ideologue of Abhinav Bharat, an extremist organisation involved in the Malegaon and Ajmer blasts.
On March 8, a National Investigation Agency Special Court in Jaipur in Rajasthan held three persons guilty in the 2007 Ajmer blast case, but acquitted Aseemanand and six others.
Two of the three convicts were handed life imprisonment. One convict has since died.
Aseemanand's bail also enraged several Muslim leaders in Hyderabad.
IANS inputs