Lesson for Hindutva forces; can’t have one culture: Owaisi on Jallikattu row
Owaisi’s comment is likely to fuel the debate over the proposed Uniform Civil Code which aims to review the Muslim community’s personal laws on divorce and polygamy, said to heavily loaded against women.
A Muslim party leader, Asaduddin Owaisi, on Friday described an ongoing agitation over the ban on Jallikattu as a “lesson for Hindutva forces”, linking the protests in Tamil Nadu to the Centre’s efforts to introduce a common civil code in the country.
His comment is likely to fuel the debate over the proposed Uniform Civil Code which aims to review the Muslim community’s personal laws on divorce and polygamy, said to heavily loaded against women.
“Jallikattu protests, lesson for Hindutva forces,” Owaisi tweeted, adding that “Uniform Civil Code cannot be imposed”.
“This nation cannot have one culture, we celebrate all,” he said.
He, however, did not explain the link between the protests and the Hindu right-wing.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its affiliated organisation, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), have backed the demand for lifting the ban on Jallikattu, a popular bull-taming of in Tamil Nadu.
Owaisi, who heads the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), has been at loggerheads with the RSS over its campaign for an uniform civil code. The RSS is the ideological mentor of the ruling party at the Centre, the BJP.
Owaisi’s party is also contesting several seats in Uttar Pradesh where assembly polls will be held in seven phases from next month.
He is also highly critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his alleged anti-Muslim policies.
On Thursday, Owaisi said Modi “would have claimed credit” for construction of the Red Fort and the Taj Mahal “had they not been built long ago”.
(With agency inputs)