All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for praising the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in his Independence Day address, calling it a "great insult" to India's freedom struggle.
Highlighting that RSS never participated in the freedom struggle, Owaisi said that the "cultural organisation" hated freedom fighters more than the Britishers since they used to remain in their "shadows". He argued that RSS has always opposed "inclusive nationalism."
"Prime Minister praising the RSS in his Independence Day speech is a great insult to our freedom struggle because the RSS never participated in the freedom struggle. They used to remain in the shadows of the Britishers. RSS hated the freedom fighters more than the British, including Gandhi. RSS has always opposed inclusive nationalism, which was the basis that freedom fighters fought for the country's independence," Owaisi said while addressing a presser here.
Owaisi further attacked the RSS, saying its Hindutva ideology was against the Constitution. He said it was "wrong" for the Prime Minister to praise an organisation that spreads "hatred" in the country.
"The ideology of Hindutva is completely against the Constitution of India. When PM Modi went to RSS headquarters earlier, I didn't say anything because I realised that he is a life-time Swayamsewak. However, he praised RSS in his capacity as the Prime Minister of India, an organisation that spreads hatred in the country. Non-Cooperation Movement, Satyagraha, agitation against Rowlatt Act, Civil Disobedience Movement, Quit India Movement, Naval Mutiny in Mumbai - can you see RSS in any of it?" Owaisi argued.
{{/usCountry}}"The ideology of Hindutva is completely against the Constitution of India. When PM Modi went to RSS headquarters earlier, I didn't say anything because I realised that he is a life-time Swayamsewak. However, he praised RSS in his capacity as the Prime Minister of India, an organisation that spreads hatred in the country. Non-Cooperation Movement, Satyagraha, agitation against Rowlatt Act, Civil Disobedience Movement, Quit India Movement, Naval Mutiny in Mumbai - can you see RSS in any of it?" Owaisi argued.
{{/usCountry}}Referring to Syama Prasad Mookerjee of the Hindu Mahasabha, Owaisi said, "RSS' oath talks about the religion, society and culture of a single community. When Syama Prasad Mookerjee was a minister in the Bengal cabinet in 1941, Fazlul Huq was heading it, who had moved the Muslim League's Pakistan resolution in the Lahore session in March 1940. And today, the Prime Minister is talking about them. We have always been and will remain philosophically opposed to the BJP. However, the Prime Minister's praise for RSS is wrong."
Owaisi also voiced concerns over China. "We have danger from China. We can't go to the lost patrolling points. We lost 25 patrolling points," he added.
The AIMIM chief further criticised claims that Muslims were responsible for Partition, calling it a "lie," and urged NCERT to include the book "Muslims Against Partition" by Shamsul Islam in its curriculum.
"Include the book 'Muslims Against Partition' by Shamsul Islam in the NCERT... This lie is told again and again about Partition. At that time, not even 2-3 per cent of Muslims had the right to vote, and today people blame us for the Partition. How were we responsible for that? Those who fled from here, they fled. Those who were loyal stayed," he said.
This comes after Prime Minsiter Narendra Modi, in his speech on 79th Independence Day from the Red Fort yesterday, hailed the RSS for completing 100 years of service to the nation, describing it as the "biggest NGO in the world" and praising its century-long contribution to nation-building. (ANI)