Dadri lynching: Owaisi asks for President's rule, says UP govt must step down

Member of Parliament from Hyderabad and chief of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday demanded that the Uttar Pradesh government step down and President's rule be imposed.

Owaisi made these comments in the backdrop of the incident at Dadri village in the state, where 50-year-old Mohammad Akhlaq was dragged out of his home on September 28 by a mob and lynched after rumours that he had killed a calf and stored beef in his fridge. Akhlaq's younger son Danish was also critically injured.

Criticizing the ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) for its failure to prevent attacks on Muslims, and party minister Azam Khan for seeking the United Nation's intervention, Owaisi said the move underscores the government's inability to take control of the situation, a Times of India report adds.

"If Mulayam Singh Yadav supports the statement of his party leader (Azam Khan), then he should call for President's rule and step down...He doesn't seem to have any confidence in India," Owaisi told a gathering of reporters in Hyderabad.

While adding that it was a ruling party's constitutional duty to protect Hindus, Muslims and everyone else, Owaisi said that the SP have "failed to discharge their constitutional duties."

Meanwhile, the situation in the village of Dadri remained tense as meat sellers and restaurant operators in and around the village have temporarily shut shop fearing more such attacks. The district administration however has not issued any orders prohibiting sale or purchase of non-vegetarian items in the village.

Owaisi also questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's silence on the Dadri lynching incident and said: "When the PM can tweet words of condolence on the death of a singer's son (Asha Bhonsle's son Hemant), why can't he say something on the death of a father whose son is defending the country."