BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh Assembly today unanimously adopted a censure motion, moved by a Congress member and backed by the ruling BJP, slamming AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi for refusing to chant 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai.'
Congress MLA Jitu Patwari, who brought the motion during the Zero Hour, condemned Owaisi's stand, saying "his party is against fundamentalist ideologies of all hues."
State Legislative Affairs Minister Narottam Mishra seconded Patwari's motion and came down heavily on Owaisi, saying that such type of anti-national mentality is being noticed since last one and an half year.
Moving the motion, Patwari recalled that India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru in his work 'Discovery of India' has touched upon the rich and diversified cultures of the nation and describing it as 'Mother India.'
The Congress legislator said his party is against all sorts of fundamentalist outlook - be it of Hindu, Muslim, Christian and any other religion.
Backing the motion, Mishra said India loved and respected both "Ram and Rahim" equally, and blasted people sympathising with divisive forces.
He also hit out at people behind the sloganeering of "Pakistan Zindabad" and supporting Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru.
He said that even the anti-national acts at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus too should be condemned along with Owaisi.
Panchayat Minister Gopal Bhargava rose to join in condemning Owaisi and tried to take a dig at the Congress.
But Speaker Sitasaran Sharma, sensing a tussle between the treasury and the opposition benches, got up and said the the motion censuring AIMIM leader had been passed unanimously, amid chants of 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' by members including Congress' Patwari and Hardeep Singh Dang.
On March 13, Owaisi had said he will not chant 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai,' comments that came against the backdrop of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's suggestion that the new generation needs to be taught to chant slogans hailing mother India.
The Maharashtra Assembly on Wednesday suspended AIMIM MLA Waris Pathan for the rest of the ongoing session, with the ruling BJP-Shiv Sena as well as the opposition Congress and NCP members backing action against the legislator.