Firm Owaisi says 'won't retract, won't raise slogan to prove patriotism'

Holding his ground, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday said that he won't raise slogan, 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai', to prove his loyalty to the nation.

"I stand by my statement. Why should I raise such a slogan to prove my loyalty to this country? I have not violated any law. There is nothing which our forefathers talked about. May be it is part and parcel of their ideology, which I will never accept," Owaisi told ANI.

"Is there any violation of the law or is there anywhere written in Constitution that every Indian will have to chant this slogan? It can be their (RSS) ideology. They are terrorising. they cannot imply their ideology upon me," he added.

Against the backdrop of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat's suggestion that the new generation needs to be taught to chant slogans hailing mother India, Owaisi said that he won't chant slogans of 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai'.

Bhagwat's comments came against the backdrop of the row over alleged anti-India sloganeering in the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus on February 9.