A war of words erupted on Monday between All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi and Union Minister for Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju over the latter’s assertion that minorities in India enjoy more benefits and protection than the majority community.
Calling it “rights, not charity”, Owaisi lashed out at Rijiju, accusing him of acting like a monarch and dubbing him the “Minister Against Minorities”. Intensifying his attack, Owaisi said that Indian Muslims were no longer citizens of the country but hostages.
Rijiju shared an excerpt of his interview with the Indian Express on X, in which he said, “INDIA is the only country where the minorities get more benefits and protections than the majority community.”
He claimed that the PM Modi-led government had championed the principle of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayas’, enabling minority communities to be equal participants in India’s growth story.
Rijiju went further, saying, “The main point we have to understand is that minority communities are receiving more funds and support from the government than the majority community… i.e., the Hindus.”
Owaisi fired back swiftly, saying, “You are a Minister of the Indian Republic, not a monarch. You hold a constitutional post, not a throne. Minority rights are fundamental rights, not charity.”
He added that being called names like Pakistani, Bangladeshi, jihadi, or Rohingya every single day is not a “benefit”, nor is being lynched or having homes and religious sites bulldozed illegally. “Is it an ‘honour’ to be the target of hate speeches from no less than the Prime Minister of India?” he asked.
Rijiju retorted that Indian Muslims don’t migrate to other countries because of the benefits provided under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s welfare schemes. “How come minorities from our neighbouring countries prefer to come to India & our minorities don’t migrate?” he tweeted.
Owaisi responded sharply, saying, “According to Hon’ble Minister Against Minorities, if we don’t migrate it means we are happy. Actually, we are not in the habit of fleeing: we did not run away from the British, we did not run away during partition, and we did not run away because of Jammu, Nellie, Gujarat, Moradabad, Delhi etc massacres.”
He added, “Our history is proof that we neither collaborate with our oppressors nor do we hide from them. We know how to fight for our democratic rights and we will inshallah.”
The Hyderabad MP also took aim at the government’s changes to the Waqf (Amendment) Act, which allows non-Muslims on Waqf boards.
“Can Muslims be members of Hindu Endowment Boards? No. But your Waqf Amendment Act forces non-Muslims onto Waqf Boards – and allows them to form a majority,” he said.
Owaisi accused the Modi government of slashing scholarships for Muslim students, pointing out that the Maulana Azad National Fellowship was discontinued, and pre-matric, post-matric, and merit-cum-means scholarships were defunded or limited – all because they benefitted Muslim students.
“Muslims are now the only group whose numbers have fallen in higher education. Their presence in the informal economy has gone up. They have been among the worst-hit by your economic policies,” he said, citing government data.
He further claimed that Indian Muslims are no longer treated even as second-class citizens but as hostages. “Indian Muslims are the only group whose children are now worse off than their parents or grandparents. Intergenerational mobility has reversed. Muslim-concentrated areas are the ones most starved of public infrastructure and basic services,” he said.
Closing his rebuttal, Owaisi urged Rijiju to stop comparing Indian Muslims to minorities in “failed states” like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.
“We are not asking to be compared with other minorities of other countries. We are not asking for more than what the majority community gets. We are demanding what the Constitution promises: social, economic, and political justice,” he said.