The bill to amend the law governing Waqf boards proposes far-reaching changes in the Wakf Act, 1995, including ensuring the representation of Muslim women and non-Muslims in such bodies.
On his part, BJP Lok Sabha MP Narayan Rane, himself no stranger to controversies, got into damage control mode and sought to calm frayed nerves, saying he has chided his son over the remarks.
Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Thursday claimed that contrary to the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's "false propaganda" that the population of Muslim community was increasing in the country, the number of the minority community members vis-a-vis Hindus was fast declining, and added that he could prove it.
A first information report (FIR) was filed in Ghaziabad on Monday against Alt-News co-founder Mohammad Zubair for allegedly promoting enmity among religious groups and other offences following a complaint by an aide of controversial priest Yati Narsinghanand, according to police.
'They have not mentioned the word minorities. They say scholarships will be given to marginalised communities'
"Is the current government a government for a particular community? Is it a government only for Hindutva?" Owaisi said.
Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera called the order "state-sponsored bigotry".
"People are being beaten up if they do not say 'Jai Shri Ram' and 'Vande Mataram.' These incidents are not going to stop. Only Muslims and Dalits are being targeted. There are organisations behind such incidents and all of them are linked to the Sangh Parivar," he said while speaking to media persons.
'Under the circumstances, this announcement may remain limited to bravado and little else, adding momentum to Imran's narrative of victimhood,' points out Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
State Congress president Jagdish Thakor urged Muslim leaders, including Pirzada, to frame a time-bound programme targeting 60 assembly seats with sizable Muslim population.
Such is the force of his oratory that many Muslims, even those who don't vote for him, have come to believe that Asaduddin Owaisi is the first and only politician who speaks up for Muslims since Independence, observes Jyoti Punwani
Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) international joint general secretary Surendra Jain on Tuesday warned All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi for his comment on the inauguration of Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
Among the national parties, the Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Communist Party of India-Marxist opposed the proposal, while the Bharatiya Janata Party and the National People's Party supported it.
Rana's blistering attack came in response to AIMIM MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi's controversial speech in 2013 that it would take them only '15 minutes' to balance the 'Hindu- Muslim ratio' in the country if the police were removed.
Interestingly, the Muslim representation in West Bengal assembly has dropped this time when compared to what it was in 2016, even as members of the community voted en masse for the Mamata Banerjee camp.
Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM, which is going to contest next year's Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls on the promise of creating leadership among Muslims, has created unease in the political parties that so far considered the members of the minority community as their core "vote bank".
Even as the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, the Muslim political party with tremendous clout in Hyderabad, still keeping its cards on Telangana issue close to its chest, several other Muslim organisations have become active in support of the Telangana state.
As controversy raged over Yati Narsinghanand's objectionable remarks against Prophet Muhammad, his supporters on Sunday alleged that the Dasna temple head priest is being illegally kept in detention by police, which denied the claim.
At an online book release event, former vice president Hamid Ansari lays to rest the controversies surrounding his tenure.
The BJP's panicky return to basic-instinct majoritarianism in Bihar has pushed Muslims back into the 'secular' basement, says Shekhar Gupta.
An Uttar Pradesh government spokesperson said a formal order for all eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route in the state was likely to be issued soon.
The anti-encroachment drive at Vishalgad Fort in Maharashtra's Kolhapur district turned violent as a mob hurled stones at police personnel and damaged properties, leading to the registration of cases against 500 people and the arrest of 21 others, police said on Monday.
The Andhra Pradesh high court's verdict striking down the 4.5 per cent reservation quota of the central government for the minorities has evoked a strong reaction from the Muslim community.
Apna Dal-K leader Pallavi Patel made it clear that the party was no longer an ally of the SP which is a member of the INDIA bloc.
Muslims constitute 20% of UP's electorate. Currently, Muslim voters are divided between Akhilesh's SP and Mayawati's BSP. What will tilt the balance? Can Muslims back the winning party? Mohammad Sajjad explains the mysteries of UP's Muslim politics.
The Muslim community uses family planning tool, condom the most in order to maintain a gap between two children, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen Chief Asaduddin Owaisi has claimed.
United Muslim Action Committee, an umbrella of several Muslim organisations in Hyderabad on Monday lashed out at the state government and the police administration for what it called "encouraging and emboldening" the Hindutva forces against the Muslim minority leading to several attacks on the community in the recent weeks.
A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra asked the ASI not to take recourse to any invasive act during the survey.
After taking oath, he hailed his state Telangana, Bhimrao Ambedkar, apart from raising the AIMIM's slogan for Muslim, along with the West Asian country.
In 2014, young Muslims became Owaisi fans. But five years of BJP rule and a weakening Opposition have drawn older Muslims too towards the AIMIM chief. Not enough, though.
Majlis-e-Shura of Masjid committee has appealed to Muslim youths to marry within the community and keep away from inter-religious marriages that cause embarrassment, committee secretary Syed Wasimuddin told PTI.
"Those who hoist the Pakistani flag, they should be punished," Katiyar said.
70-plus years after Independence, 'Hindu India, metamorphosised as 'Hindutva India', is proving the British right -- and for all the wrong reasons. Mohan Bhagwat should have answers for the why of it, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
With most political parties failing to articulate the concerns of Muslims, who account for 15 per cent of the population and can swing the electoral outcome in 21 constituencies, the AIMIM hopes to make a mark in the ongoing assembly elections, says Shafeeq Rahman.
United Muslim Action Committee, an umbrella of more than a dozen Muslim organisations of Andhra Pradesh, on Wednesday declared an all-out war against ruling Congress party, specially Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy.
'I have interacted with Muslim women in rural Bengal, they are scared of the BJP.'
In an interview with rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa, Editor in chief of the popular Urdu daily, Siasat, Zahid Ali Khan, says that the speech was a desperate attempt to garner Muslim votes.
Hamid Anasari's was not talking of reservation for the whole religious community to which he too happens to belong. Yet, sections of media chose to put words into his mouth and then subject him to the criticism he never deserved. This does not augur well for our media or democracy, says Mohammad Sajjad.
According to Owaisi, the CAA was only made towards making India a Hindu Rashtra.
The 31-year-old passenger was travelling to Erbil, capital of the Kurdistan Autonomous Region, from his home state of Bihar.
