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Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi was given ‘Z' category security on Friday, a day after shots were fired at his car in western Uttar Pradesh, but the prominent Muslim leader rejected the protection and asked the government to instead make him an ’A category’ citizen ’at par’ with all.
Home ministry officials said the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief's threat perception was assessed afresh after Thursday evening's incident in Hapur while he was returning to Delhi after campaigning for the elections beginning February 10. Two people, one from Gautam Buddh Nagar and the other from Saharanpur in western Uttar Pradesh, have been arrested and charged with attempt to murder.
Owaisi said in Parliament he did not want the security cover -- round-the-clock protection by CRPF commandos -- extended to him by the government.
"I don't want Z category security. I want to be an A category citizen, at par with you all. Why was UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act) not invoked against those who fired at me? ...I want to live, to speak. My life will be safe when the poor are safe. I will not get scared of those who shot at my car," he said in the Lok Sabha.
Owaisi, who on Friday evening asked the Election Commission to ensure an independent probe into the incident, also urged the government to charge those who attacked him with stringent provisions of the UAPA and made an appeal to end radicalisation in the country.
Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said Union Home Minister Amit Shah will make a statement in the House on the matter on Monday.
No one was injured in the attack on Thursday evening, a week before assembly elections in the stare begin.
Under ’Z' category security, the second highest, paramilitary commandos will be deployed for Owaisi's security 24x7. About 16-20 armed commandos will be deployed in shifts. He will also be provided with an escort and a pilot vehicle when he travels by road and there will be a guard stationed at his home.
'Z plus' is the highest category security provided to a person with high threat perception in India.
It was not immediately clear whether the security cover would be provided all India or only during his election campaigning in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh.
Home ministry officials said shortly after Owaisi's statement in the Lok Sabha that CRPF officials would be visiting his residence and inform him about the government's decision.
”In case a protectee is not interested in availing the security cover, he or she has to give it in writing after which a final decision is taken,” an official explained.
According to Uttar Pradesh police officials, the two people suspected to be involved in the firing at the AIMIM chief's car have been arrested. The police have lodged an FIR on charges of attempt to murder against the two and they have been remanded to judicial custody.
"One of the accused has been identified as Sachin, a resident of Badalpur in Gautam Buddh Nagar, while the other is Shubham, a native of Nakur in Saharanpur," the police said in a statement.
Two pistols were seized from their possession. A Maruti Alto car has also been impounded in connection with the case, the police said.
The FIR has been lodged at the Pilakhua police station under IPC Section 307 (attempt to murder) and Section 7 of the Criminal Amendment Act, it added. Under these sections the maximum punishment could be up to 10 years.
In Hyderabad, Owaisi's home ground, leaders of Telangana's ruling TRS and Congress condemned the firing at Owaisi's vehicle. Some shopkeepers in the old city of Hyderabad voluntarily kept their shops closed after the incident, police sources said.
However, Friday prayers passed off peacefully in the old city, they said.
”Glad you are safe Asad bhai...outrageous & utterly reprehensible, strongly condemn this act of cowardice," K T Rama Rao, son of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, tweeted.
AIMIM units at various places in the country submitted a memorandum to the respective district magistrates seeking an investigation into the incident, party sources said.
Senior Congress leader Marri Shashidhar Reddy claimed the incident appeared to have been designed to fan communal tensions to polarise people in UP for electoral gains.
"I am personally concerned over Owaisi's safety. Adequate security for him must be provided. Further, I would like him to be careful and take safety measures at the personal-level as well," Reddy said in a statement.
About 30 people are being provided Z category security in the central list.
Elections are scheduled for February 10 in 58 assembly constituencies across 11 districts of western Uttar Pradesh. The elections are being held over seven phases in the state.