Lashing out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for calling Muslims “infiltrators”, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Akbaruddin Owaisi asserted that Muslims belong to this nation. “We have decorated this nation. We are not infiltrators. We belong to this nation,” he said. During a public rally in Rajasthan’s Banswara on April 21, Modi had claimed that the Congress would distribute the country’s wealth among “infiltrators” and “those who have more children”, referring to Muslims.
In response to this, Akbaruddin Owaisi said at a public meeting, “Are we [Muslims] infiltrators and people with many children? Do you know how many siblings Atal Bihari Vajpayee had? Vajpayee and his siblings were seven in number. Yogi Adityanath and his siblings are seven in number. Amit Shah and his siblings are also seven in number. Narendra Modi and his siblings are six in number. We are the ones who gave the Taj Mahal, Qutub Minar, Red Fort, Jama Masjid, and Charminar to this nation. We have decorated this nation. We are not infiltrators. We belong to this nation. This nation is ours and will be ours."
The video of the PM making such derogatory remarks against Muslims emerged on April 21, in which, referring to the tenure of the Congress government under Manmohan Singh between 2004-2014, Modi is seen saying, “Earlier, when they (Congress) were in power, they said that the Muslims have the first right to the country’s wealth. This means they will distribute this wealth to those who have more children, to infiltrators. Should your hard-earned money be given to infiltrators?”
The said speech by Manmohan was made in 2006 when the former PM was addressing the issue of minority empowerment. His office had clarified back then that the usage “first claim on resources” in his speech refers to the priority areas listed in minority empowerment initiatives, including programmes for the upliftment of SCs, STs, OBCs, women, children, and other minorities.
After Modi’s remarks on Muslims went viral, there was widespread outrage citing that he misinterpreted Manmohan’s speech out of context. Many demanded the Election Commission of India (ECI) to ‘wake up’ and take action against the Prime Minister for his hate speech. Nearly 20,000 people, including several activists, also wrote two separate letters to the ECI seeking action against Modi.
