Jamia VC has no right to continue, says Asaduddin Owaisi

The duo also debated over other issues including NRC, unemployment and minority rights in the country.
AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi (File | EPS)
AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi (File | EPS)

HYDERABAD:  Expressing his displeasure over police entering the campus of Delhi’s Jamia Milia Islamia University, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi asked the university’s Vice-Chancellor (VC) to resign from her post for letting police enter the university campus and beat up students. Talking on a show hosted by a TV news channel, the Lok Sabha MP said that in a situation where students were beaten up in the library, the VC, Najma Akhtar, does not have the right to continue in her post. 

“The Vice-Chancellor was aware of everything. She has no moral right to stay on in her post. She should resign,” said Owaisi. He also said Akhtar should not have left the university campus when the protests went out of hand. In the talk show, Owaisi sparred with Union Minority Affairs minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. While the Hyderabad MP lashed out at the Citizens Amendment Act, Naqvi defended it. “This is a violation of fundamental rights. By making a law that has connections to religion, you are keeping the soul of (Mohammad Ali) Jinnah alive. The law is in a violation of Article 21, 25 and 14,” said Owaisi. 

Owaisi also took a dig at PM Narendra Modi’s comment that ‘protesters can be identified by their clothes’. “Are your clothes good and mine bad?” Owaisi asked Naqvi. In reply, Naqvi said Owaisi was trying to divert the attention from key issues. 

The duo also debated over other issues including NRC, unemployment and minority rights in the country. Meanwhile, in a tweet, Owaisi also slammed a video where students in a school run by a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) functionary in Karnataka were seen mimicking the demolition of the Babri Masjid.

Owaisi said, “Bitter adults are poisoning the minds of little children. It is agonising to see children mimic the hate that we have only received from adults. The lessons we will give to our children will only be about building bridges, not tearing them apart.” 

FSMI condemns internet shutdowns
Hyderabad-based Free Software Movement of India (FSMI) condemned the internet shutdowns across the country terming it as an ‘atrocious attempt to stop democratic protests’. “In this year alone, there have been 93 instances where the government shut down the internet in various places and more recently in Assam and Meghalaya. These actions by different arms of the government have made India number one in terms of shutting down the internet in the world,” said a release from FSMI. They demanded that every internet shutdown be reviewed by a committee within five days of the orders being issued.

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