Amit Shah hits back at Owaisi over Rohingya remarks

HYDERABAD: Union home minister Amit Shah on Sunday asked All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi to give in writing that Bangladeshis and Rohingyas should be evicted and then see the central government's response. In a sharp response, Owaisi quipped that Shah is the first home minister "seeking permission" from an MP to remove people living illegally.

Earlier, Shah had targeted Owaisi over the issue of Rohingyas and said, "Whenever the matter of Bangladeshis and Rohingyas is discussed in Parliament, who takes their side? People know it."

"When I take action, they create a ruckus in Parliament. Have you not seen how loud he cries? Tell them to give in writing that Bangladeshis and Rohingyas have to be evicted. I will do it. Only talking of it during the election is not sufficient. When the matter of evicting them is discussed in Parliament, who takes their side? The people of this country know it. People have seen it on live TV," Shah said.

Owaisi had earlier remarked that "if there are illegal Rohingyas in India, what is the home minister doing?'

Stepping up his attack on the AIMIM chief, Shah asserted that Hyderabad should be freed from the 'Nizam culture'.

"We will free Hyderabad from the 'Nizam culture' and work towards constructing a modern city based on democratic principles. We will take it away from dynastic politics without any appeasement," he said.

Owaisi responded to Shah's "dare" and said it is Shah's job as home minister to take action against illegal refugees.

"When has it started that the home minister will take action after asking an MP? It is his work. He is the first Home Minister who is asking for permission to remove illegal Pakistanis and Afghans. It is his party that said that there are 30,000 Rohingyas on the voter list. If they are living illegally, Home Minister Amit Shah should explain how they can live here. He should take action," Owaisi told news agency ANI.

The war of words began when Owaisi, during a rally, sought to know why Shah has not acted against Rohingya refugees if his party claims that they have been enlisted as voters.

"It was BJP that claimed there are 30,000 illegal Rohingya refugees who're enrolled in voters' list here. I said that they should identify 1,000 such names and asked if Amit Shah was sleeping in Delhi? Why does he not remove them? Who's stopping him," he asked.

Attacking the BJP, Owaisi said, "There is an issue of pollution in Hyderabad. They do not want to talk about it. They want to create Hindu-Muslim pollution. I want to ask again how much amount does BJP central government give to Hyderabad. During the flood why they gave money to Karnataka and not to Hyderabad. The BJP hates Hyderabad," he added.

Owaisi asserted that people of Hyderabad will do a "Democratic strike" on December 1, the day of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) polls.

"Amit Shah came to Hyderabad. You have seen beautiful Charminar. You want me to give in writing. Your party wants to do a surgical strike in old Hyderabad. Is it your culture? You are insulting people living here. People will do a "democratic strike" on December 1," he said.