AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi said he wants Amit Shah to discuss the Citizenship (Amendment) Act with him instead of others, after the Union home minister issued a challenge to several politicians such as Rahul Gandhi for a public debate on the contentious law.
At a rally in Lucknow in support of the CAA on Tuesday, Shah had said the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) will not be withdrawn and those protesting can continue to do so even as he challenged Opposition leaders for a public debate on the amended legislation.
Accusing the Opposition of 'misleading' people on the amended citizenship law, Shah threw the challenge for the debate to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati.
Addressing a rally in Karimnagar district on Tuesday night ahead of the municipal polls on January 25, Owaisi said, 'I am here..debate with me.. why (debate) with these people.. 'Daadi wale se karo na' (Debate with a bearded man). We will talk and debate on CAA, NPR and NRC.'
The CAA allows citizenship for Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Christians, Parsis and Jains who entered India from three neighbouring countries before 2015 after facing religious persecution. Muslim migrants don't figure on this list.
The AIMIM chief hit out at the BJP over renaming of places, while mentioning about the 'Halwa' ceremony ahead of the Union budget.
'BJP says it will change names. I want to ask from where did the word halwa originate? It is an Arabic word. It is neither Hindi nor Urdu (word). now remove the Arabic word.. They (BJP) say they will (continue to) change names. Inshallah people of the country will change you,' the Hyderabad MP said adding 'remember I am not halwa.. I am lal mirchi (red chilli).'
Meanwhile, the AIMIM has requested the Telangana State Election Commission not to use face recognition app being used on pilot basis in the polls for urban local bodies, alleging that it would invade the privacy of the citizens, among other violations.
