Muslim lawmaker and the leader of Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, or the Council of the Union of Muslims, Akbaruddin Owaisi, center in black, makes his way through the crowd as he leaves the Government Gandhi Hospital after medical tests in Hyderabad, India, Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2013. Police say they have arrested Owaisi in a southern Indian state for making inflammatory speeches against majority Hindus.
It has been my experience that the best way to deal with political rabble-rousers is to call their bluff and bluster. I have never met Akbaruddin Owaisi, the 42 year old MLA of the Hyderabad-based Majlis-e-Ittihad al Muslimin, but listening to his recent incendiary speech at a public gathering in Adilabad, I see no reason for him to roam free. Clearly, his hateful vocabulary has no place in a civilised democracy.
I have, however, met the elder Owaisi brother, the MIM MP, Asauddin Owaisi. Senior Owaisi in private is a soft-spoken, highly courteous gent, with a Bar at Law degree from the prestigious Lincolns Inn. During parliament sessions, he invites journalists and fellow MPs for a Hyderabadi daawat and is always a gracious host. Since my gastronomic habits are distinctly secular (I have had crabs and red wine with the Thackerays and jalebis with VHP leaders), the haleem at Owaisi's lunch is always a delight.
And yet, away from the genteel lunches, the crowded bylanes of the walled city of Hyderabad present a very different picture. This is the Owaisi family bastion where first the father Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi was a 6 time MP and now Asauddin is a two time MP. Why does an otherwise dignified individual transform himself into a fiery demagogue the moment he steps into his constituency? The answer must lie in political compulsions. In Delhi, Asauddin Owaisi is a back-bencher MP; in Hyderabad, his self-image is of a strident protector of Muslims who seeks votes by preying on the fears and insecurities of his core followers. It is a peculiar schizophrenia that one could almost excuse if only it were not so dangerous.
Hyderabad: A court in Medak district today granted bail to jailed MIM MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi in connection with a case for preventing officials from performing their duties, while another court in Nizambad district turned down
his bail plea in a hate speech case.
Medak Additional Principal and Sessions Judge granted bail to Akbaruddin and directed him to submit two sureties of
Rs 10,000 each.
Seeking bail for Akbaruddin, his counsel had yesterday pleaded before the court that his client will be present before the court whenever directed to do so.
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen MP Asaduddin Owaisi surrendered before a Andhra Pradesh court today in connection with the 2005 protest case. Soon afterwards, he applied for a bail. However,he was remanded in judicial custody till 2 February and will spend the night in jail today. His petition will be heard tomorrow.
Owaisi's brother Akbaruddin Owaisi along with other MIM leaders are also accused in the case.
What happened in 2005?
The case is related to the incident which took place in 2005 when district officials led by then collector Anil Kumar Singhal were removing encroachments that included a place of worship in Muttangi in Patancheru area of Medak district. At this time MIM leaders including Asaduddin, Akbaruddin, Afsar Khan, Pasha Qadri and Mozam Khan allegedly obstructed and pushed the collector aside.
What happened after that?
Akbaruddin Owaisi might be hogging the headlines for his recenthighly inflammatory speechbut this is the not the first time that the Owaisis are courting controversy. Asaduddin Owaisi - Lok Sabha MP from Hyderabad and Akbaruddin Owaisi - MLA are known for routine inflammatory speeches in and outside their respective constituencies. Watch the video above for a quick round of their controversial speeches.
Akrabuddin recently went on a tirade against the Hindus in a speech full of hatred in Adilabad. But even before this the Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen MLA has incited hatred. In this video, he said We in Hyderabad want to behead this woman according to the fatwa, when Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen had come to Hyderabad.
Akbaruddin Owaisi's words at set of public gatherings might have been dubbed a 'hate speech' by many, but according to his brother and MP Asaduddin Owaisi it was is merely a speech demanding religious equality and his arrest was a conspiracy against the Owaisis .
In an exclusive interview to Rajdeep Sardesai on CNN-IBN, he said, This (Akbaruddin's speech) is a speech demanding religious and political equality.
What were you doing when Atal Bihari Vajpayee said in Goa 'train kisne jalayi thi?' (referring to the train burning incident in Godhra) Also what were you doing when slogans were hurled 'ek dhakka aur do, babri masjid tod do' ? he asked.
