With the Bharatiya Janata Party winning over 300 seats in the Lok Sabha polls, Hyderabad parliamentarian Asaduddin Owaisi on Friday sought to allay concerns of Muslims and pointed out that as citizens of the country, they have the Constitution on their side.

Mr. Owaisi was addressing the Youm-ul-Quran public meeting at the Mecca Masjid, where he drew heavily from Islamic theology and history, on Jumatul Vida, the last Friday in the holy month of Ramzan.

“If Prime Minister of India Modi can go to any temple, without a doubt, and with pride, you can congregate at mosque. If he can sit in a cave, then you can sit in a mosque for a chilla (40 days). Why? Because India has a living Constitution. The (BJP’s) 300 seats cannot take away our rights,” he said and added that Muslims are equal citizens of the country and that the party would protect the Constitution.

Muslim-Dalit unity

Appealing to the Muslims to seek spirituality in the last few days of Ramzan, he urged them to stand united with Dalits, and work with them. He said that it was on account of the party’s alliance with the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi in Maharashtra that it could win the Aurangabad parliament seat.

Mr. Owaisi rubbished all claims of the AIMIM being a vote-splitter and said that time and again he had appealed for unity and said, “I was saying that there is a need to be united. I was called a vote-splitter. Who is the liar now?” He reiterated that the political contest now, and in the future would be against ‘communal’ forces. Reacting to several reports of youth taking to drugs and cheap intoxicants, Mr. Owaisi warned of strict action against those stationery shops which are selling ‘whiteners’ to addicts. He also told parents to exercise restraint while giving their children access to smartphones and first-person shooter games.