BJP seeks Asaduddin Owaisi's arrest for offering legal aid to men linked to Islamic State

Hyderabad: Telangana BJP MLA T Raja Singh on Sunday demanded immediate arrest of MIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi for announcing that his party will provide legal help to five city-based youths arrested by NIA on charges of involvement in an alleged Islamic State terror module. Alleging that the ruling TRS government in Telangana supports Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM), which in turn supports terrorists, the MLA from Goshamahal seat here also demanded the Centre to derecognise the MIM party. “On one hand Prime Minister Narendra Modi is touring the world to gather support to combat terror, which is a good initiative, but on the other hand, TRS government in Telangana is friends with MIM, which in turn, has friendship with terrorists,” he claimed at a press conference here. Singh, known for his controversial statements who had also earlier been booked for alleged hate speeches, further claimed that the Telangana Police is “sleeping”, and asserted that the ‘cordon and search’ operation conducted by Hyderabad police is done only in the areas as directed by MIM. [caption id=“attachment_2870726” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen leader Asaduddin Owaisi. AFP[/caption] The NIA averted major “attack” not only in Telangana but in the country by arresting the five persons which the agency did only after thorough investigation, he said, adding: “I congratulate the NIA officers.” “The revelations of the arrested accused to carry out terror attacks on religious places among others is shocking. The conspiracy has been foiled. But, Asaduddin Owaisi talks of providing legal aid to five Islamic State suspects arrested by the NIA,” Singh said and asked Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao will it be good to support MIM under such circumstances. Owaisi on Friday said his party would provide legal help to the five youths arrested by the NIA on charges of involvement in an alleged ISIS terror module, but asserted his party does not support terrorism. Noting that the family members of the arrested youths met him and claimed they are innocent, the Hyderabad Lok Sabha MP had said he directed a senior advocate to provide legal help to them. Meanwhile, Singh claimed “earlier also, maximum number of terror suspects were arrested from Old City and they all have been helped financially and in other ways by MIM. He sought to know why the TRS government was not initiating any action against them and claimed that the TRS indulged in ‘vote bank politics’ and, hence, was not taking any action against them. “Think over it… I request the chief minister to ban MIM party and book sedition case against Asaduddin and arrest him immediately. This is the time to initiate action,” he said. The BJP MLA said he will next week meet Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and give him in writing all information he has on the “terrorist activities going on in Telangana”. Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi alleged that Owaisi is giving “oxygen” to terrorists and that he is seen as “standing with extremists”. “Owaisi is directly or indirectly helping the ISIS which had come up with a video in which it threatened to target India. This is betrayal of the country. On the one hand you condemn the ISIS and on the other hand you support those who are involved in such acts. “The investigating agencies should take action against him within the legal framework. Those who support terrorism directly or indirectly should be condemned,” BJP National Secretary Shrikant Sharma said. “One should not stoop down to this level in politics that you are seen standing with terrorism and those who support it. Those who give such statements are giving oxygen to terrorism. You do politics but refrain from actions that make it seem like you are supporting terrorism,” Naqvi said. BJP spokesperson Nalin Kohli said before jumping onto anything, Owaisi should have weighed the pros and cons because the evidence suggests that the arrested youths were allegedly planning to carry out terror-related activities during Ramzan. “The media is clearly pointing towards evidence that clearly seems to suggest that this is the plot and there is evidence to back it up. “Now before jumping into it, one should weigh the pros and cons because tomorrow if the court finds that the evidence is sufficient, they are convicted for an act of terror, they are sentenced, then Mr Owaisi will definitely answer a question. Was he openly helping terrorist and that he was very eager to help terrorists?” Kohli said. Sharma said terrorism should not be seen through religion and also took a dig at those who had targeted the Modi government over intolerance issue as he questioned their silence.