PM only worried about 'cow economy', not country's: Owaisi on Modi’s 'Om and cow' mantra ahead of polls

Agencies
September 12, 2019

Sept 12: AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi on Wednesday targetted Prime Minister Narendra Modi within hours of the latter saying some people get "electric shocks" when someone talks about "Om and cow".

Owaisi lashed out at PM Modi saying he talked about "Om and cow" keeping an eye on the assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana where the BJP has already kicked off its campaign.

Speaking with reporters, the Hyderabad MP said Modi was just worried about the "cow economy" and not country's.

"... his target was assembly elections in Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand, he spoke like this, keeping that in view," he was quoted as saying by news agency.

Owaisi said every Indian heard the sound of 'Om' and Bhajans from temples and prayers from mosques, Gurdwaras, churches and others in the morning which is the beauty of India.

Modi should have stated that "all this beauty is there in the country, that people of all religions live here. But, Prime Minister talks about only one religion. It is very painful," he said.

The Prime Minister was worried about "cow economy" and not about the country's economy and decline in the GDP and did not want debates on such issues, Owaisi charged.

"Prime Minister wants that no debate takes place about painful issues facing the country like poverty and unemployment and lay-off and attention of people is removed from them," he said.

Owaisi said Modi had expressed concern about mob lynchings but it was not having any impact.

"...your government, your state governments are standing" by the oppressors instead of ensuring justice for the victims, he alleged, referring to the Jharkhand Police dropping murder charges against 11 accused in the mob lynching case of Tabrez Ansari.

The AIMIM leader said he knew a cow was a matter of faith for Hindu brethren, but the right to life under the Constitution was for humans.

While launching the National Animal Disease Control Programme (NACDP) to control foot and mouth disease (FMD) and bacterial infection brucellosis in livestock, Modi hit out at

his critics who argue that mention of words 'Om' and 'cow' takes India back to the 16-17th century, saying they are hell-bent on damaging the country.

"But, it is unfortunate that in our country the moment the word 'Om' falls on the ears of some people, they get alarmed ('baal khadhe ho jaate hai')," he said.

"They also get alarmed by the word 'cow'. They feel as if the country has gone back to the 16-17th century. This type of knowledge has only been used by people hell-bent on damaging the country and they have left no stone unturned to do so," Modi said, without naming anyone.

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News Network
March 4,2020

London, Mar 4: The UK government has reiterated its concern over the potential impact of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and said it is continuing to follow the events in India closely.

In response to an urgent question on “Recent Violence in India” tabled by Pakistani-origin Opposition Labour Party MP Khalid Mahmood in the House of Commons on Tuesday, UK’s Minister of State in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Nigel Adams said the UK engages with India at all levels, including on human rights, and also referred to the country's "proud history" of inclusive government and religious tolerance.

"The UK government also have concerns about the potential impact of the legislation (CAA),” said Adams, the Minister for Asia who was standing in for UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who is on a visit to Turkey.

"It is because of our close relationship with the government of India that we are able to discuss difficult issues with them and make clear our concerns where we have them, including on the rights of minorities. We will continue to follow events closely and to raise our concerns when we have with them,” said the minister.

While Mahmood, who had tabled the urgent question for an FCO statement, described the government response as “facile”, another Pakistani-origin MP Nusrat Ghani called on the government to relay the UK Parliament's concerns to the Indian authorities.

British Sikh Labour MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi said the violence had brought back “painful personal memories” from the 1984 Sikh riots while he was studying in India and fellow Sikh MP Preet Kaur Gill also referenced 1984 in her intervention.

Other MPs sought to highlight the steps taken by the Indian authorities to restore “peace and tranquillity” in Delhi.

“He will be aware that it is not just Muslims who have been killed; Hindus have also been killed as part of the riots,” said Conservative Party MP Bob Blackman.

Scottish National Party (SNP) MP Alyn Smith sought the UK government’s intervention to share best practice around countering the online disinformation campaign being used in India to “inflame tensions”.

“We are in constant contact on these issues, and we know how important this is to Members of Parliament and their constituents, who may have family in the area,” said Adams, in his response.

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News Network
March 16,2020

New Delhi, Mar 16: A total of 110 cases of coronavirus, including 17 foreign nationals have been confirmed across India, Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Sunday.

The maximum positive cases have been reported from Maharashtra (32), followed by Kerala (22).

The total number of passengers screened at airports is 12,76,046, the ministry said.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared that Europe has become the new 'epicentre' of the coronavirus pandemic that has infected more than 15 lakh people with over 6,000 deaths globally.

The virus had first emerged in China's Wuhan city in December last year.

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News Network
March 18,2020

New Delhi, Mar 18: As many as 276 Indians have been infected with coronavirus abroad, including 255 in Iran, 12 in UAE and five in Italy, the government informed the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said the total number of Indians infected by coronavirus is 276 — 255 in Iran, 12 in UAE, five in Italy, and one each in Hong Kong, Kuwait, Rwanda and Sri Lanka.

A fourth batch of 53 Indians returned to India from Iran on Monday, taking the total number of people evacuated from the coronavirus-hit country to 389.

Iran is one of the worst-affected countries by the coronavirus outbreak and the government has been working to bring back Indians stranded there. Over 700 people have died from the disease in Iran and nearly 14,000 cases detected.

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