Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday condemned the incident in Muzaffarnagar in which a teacher directed students to physically assault their fellow Muslim student, and blamed the BJP’s policies for religious animosity infiltrating into educational institutions and teachers.
In statement live-streamed on social media, Mr.Owaisi said that the incident reminded him of the situation of Germany in the 1930s were Jewish children were humiliated, and wondered whether people were waiting for the equivalent of the Kristallnacht when the Nazis embarked on a pogrom of the Jews.
Earlier on Saturday, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen president condemned the incident on X, formerly Twitter.
Expressing alarm at the incident, and apart from holding the BJP responsible, Mr.Owaisi laid the blame on the shoulders of secular parties who he said tend to shy away from actions that might alienate the Hindu vote bank, ultimately rendering them unresponsive to such critical issues.
“This blame lies with the BJP and all secular parties who do not wish to upset the Hindu vote because of which they become deaf and blind. I only want to say that if the hatred does not stop, then the country will become weak,” he said.
He recounted his conversation with the father of the student and encouraged him to send the minor boy to Hyderabad and offered to take responsibility of his education. Mr.Owaisi lamented that the situation had deteriorated to a point where a father was denied the right to seek justice for his own son. “I felt anguished after he told me that he was discouraged from lodging a complaint over concerns that the atmosphere in the village would be vitiated,” Mr.Owaisi said.
Mr.Owaisi hoped that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath would respond to the incident. He also expressed disappointment that the police had invoked a bailable section of the Indian Penal Code. “Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act is clear and it should be invoked,” he said, adding that this was not done. “Imagine the psychological impact on the child,” he said.
“Whoever is listening to me think about it, you too have children. Irrespective of whether we are Hindu, Muslim, Christian or Dalit, if your son or daughter was treated this way, and the video went viral in the country and world, will you be able to sleep peacefully? Yes, only those will sleep peacefully who have hatred in their hearts for Muslims, those who have no humanity in them,” he said.
