Owaisi Slams Sarma
Nagpur
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Sunday strongly criticised Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma over his assertion regarding the religious identity of India’s top leadership, saying such views reflected what he described as Pakistani thinking.
The sharp exchange followed comments made by Sarma, in which he said that while the Constitution of India does not bar anyone from becoming Prime Minister, the country’s civilisational ethos would ensure that the office remains with a Hindu. Responding to the statement, Owaisi said Sarma’s remarks were unconstitutional and went against the spirit of India’s founding principles.
His mind is like a tubelight. He took an oath on the Constitution. Where in the Constitution is this written? Owaisi asked, while addressing reporters. He added that Sarma’s thinking resembled that of Pakistan, where constitutional provisions restrict the highest offices of the state to people from a particular community. In contrast, the Constitution of India, framed by B. R. Ambedkar, is far more inclusive and thoughtful, he said.
Owaisi further remarked that India does not belong to any single community and that its strength lies in diversity and inclusiveness. Even those who do not follow any religion have a place in this country. Such narrow-minded thinking reflects a petty mindset, he added.
Earlier, addressing the media, Sarma had clarified that there is no constitutional bar on who can occupy the highest executive office in the country. Anybody can become the Prime Minister of India, he said, while reiterating his view that India is essentially a Hindu civilisation and expressing confidence that future Prime Ministers would emerge from that civilisational framework.
The war of words between the two leaders follows a recent statement by Owaisi at a public meeting in Solapur, ahead of civic polls in Maharashtra, where he said that a hijab-wearing woman would one day become the Prime Minister of the country.