All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president, Asaduddin Owaisi, said on Friday, December 24, that a clipped video footage of his speech was being circulated on social media to trigger controversy. The speech he made was being shared as a response to the provocative and communal statements made against minority communities during a three-day 'Dharma Sansad' in Haridwar.
In the video clip that is being shared, Owaisi is seen addressing a gathering and saying that Muslims will remember atrocities committed by the police. “We won't forget. Yogi and Modi will not always be in power. Times will change. That time, who will come to save you? We won't forget,” he is seen saying in the clip.
Clarifying on the issue, Owaisi said, "A clipped one-min video is being circulated from a 45 min speech I gave in Kanpur. I have shared my entire speech on Twitter now. The context to my speech is amply clear. I was talking about cops who torture 80-year-old men. I was talking about cops who watch silently as mobs thrash a rickshaw driver in front of his daughter. Also, cops who rained lathi blows on a man as held his child in his arms."
“I said do not confuse our silence for acquiescence. It’s an essential part of my faith to believe that Allah does not allow injustice. He punishes oppressors…Assuring people of Allah’s justice gives hope. We remember that Allah is with oppressed,” he added.
In order to distract from #HaridwarGenocidalMeet, a clipped 1 min video is being circulated from 45 min speech I gave in Kanpur. I’ll set the record straight:
— Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) December 24, 2021
1. I did not incite violence or give threats. I talked about POLICE ATROCITIES Here’s the full video in TWO PARTS [Cont] pic.twitter.com/buZWZmVNLa
He further said, "I said we will remember these police atrocities. Is this objectionable? Why is it offensive to remember how police have treated Muslims in UP? We cannot forget the oppression that was meted out to Anas, Suleiman, Asif, Faisal, Altaf, Akhlaq, Qasim, and hundreds of others," he asked in another series of tweets.
Owaisi clarified, "I did not incite violence or make threats. I talked about police atrocities."
The event in Haridwar that Asaduddin Owaisi was referring to in his speech was attended by several Hindu religious leaders, who allegedly called upon the community to take up arms against Muslims as they gave a clarion call for a 'Hindu nation'. The three-day religious assembly was organised by Yati Narsinghanand, a controversial Hindutva figure known to make communal statements. Yati Narsinghanand reportedly said that "arming the Hindu brigade with bigger and better weapons" would be the "solution" against the "threat of Muslims."
With IANS inputs