The Opposition has slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his 'Muslims repair punctures' remark at a rally in Haryna.
Addressing a gathering on Monday after laying the foundation stone of a new terminal building AT Hisar's Maharaja Agrasen Airport and flagging off a commercial flight to Ayodhya, Modi said lakhs of hectares of land are Waqf property but they were misused.
"If Waqf properties had been used honestly, Muslim youths wouldn't need to earn a livelihood from repairing bicycle punctures. But only a few land mafia benefited from these properties. This mafia was looting lands belonging to Dalit, backward sections and widows," he said, adding that the amended Waqf law will address these issues.
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi hit back at the comment, saying that if the Sangh had used its ideology and resources in the country's interest, the Prime Minister "would not need to sell tea" in his childhood.
Owaisi asked what Modi had done for the poor -- Hindus or Muslims -- in the 11 years that his government has been in power.
"The biggest reason for what happened with Waqf properties is that Waqf laws were always weak. Modi's Waqf amendments will weaken them further," he said on X.
Congress's Rajya Sabha MP Imran Pratapgarhi said 'Muslims fix punctures' is the kind of language trolls use on social media.
"Such a remark does not behove the Prime Minister. Also, you have brought the country's youth to this point. There are no jobs. The only option is to fix punctures or sell fritters. Muslims don't just make punctures. I can list what Muslims have made. But this is not the time," Pratapgarhi said.
"You are saying Congress sympathisers (with Muslims). Do you hate them? If you don't, why did you throw Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Shahnawaz Hussain, MJ Akbar and Zafar Islam in the dustbin? You are saying you want to do good for Muslims through the Waqf Bill, but you don't have one Muslim MP to present it in the Lok Sabha. You talk about the rights of Muslim women. You don't have a Muslim woman member in Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha or any state assembly," he added.
Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate also questioned why the Prime Minister did not pay tribute to BR Ambedkar, the Constitution's architect, at a Parliament function to mark his birth anniversary. Responding to the Prime Minister's question on why the Congress doesn't name a Muslim party chief, she asked why the BJP does not have a Dalit Chief Minister.
Samajwadi Party’s Abu Azmi also questioned, “If Muslims are poor and fixing punctures, which Muslim have you made MP/MLA or minister?”
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