Nizamabad MP D Arvind Kumar from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) triggered a row on Friday after he made inciteful and communal statements against Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi, warning the latter that he would “hang him upside down” and “shave off his beard.”
Arvind said that he would stick that shaved beard to Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR), so that he could also be visibly identified as a “Mullah” (used by some as a derogatory term to address Muslims), for his stand against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
The BJP MP made these inflammatory comments against the CM and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief, while addressing a public meeting in Nizamabad.
Arvind said, “Asaduddin Owaisi is saying that he would tear the RSS and BJP. Nine years ago, your own brother (Akbaruddin) was stabbed 50 times and shot 20 times in your own turf by Mohammed Pehalwan -- from your own community. Your brother is still availing treatment for those injuries even after nine years. And you threaten to tear BJP?”
He continued, “They held some meeting in Eidgah ground (in Nizamabad). In the same ground, I will bring a crane, hang you upside down and shave off your beard. I will give promotion to your beard, as I will not throw it away. I will stick it to KCR. Let’s stick the beard to him (KCR) so that people know that he is a Mullah.”
A week ago, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi had held a meeting in Nizamabad against the CAA and NRC (National Register of Citizens). He reiterated that the CAA was against the Constitution, and that the country was at the cusp of imminent danger.
Arvind also launched a tirade against KCR for opposing the Citizenship Amendment Bill in Parliament. “KCR has turned into a Mullah. He is a Mullah in the guise of Chief Minister. His son is an atheist. What will they know about Hindu Dharma? And these people are talking about secularism,” the BJP MP scoffed.
He further said that the BJP won’t go on a backfoot on the CAA due to the protests. “Just because some four people burnt down four buses, we won’t go back. In future many more laws would come. I won’t name them, but it will come.”