Muslims continued living in India not because of Cong but the Constitution: Asaduddin Owaisi

Ahead of the Maharashtra elections, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi slammed Congress and asked it to stop pretending to be the saviour of Indian Muslims.

"If for more than 70 years, the Muslims have continued living in India it is not because of your (Congress) grace, but due to the Constitution and the one above (God)," Owaisi said addressing an election rally for his party's candidate from the Bhiwandi West seat on Monday.

In the same rally, Owaisi had also targeted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and said when a ship sinks, the captain evacuates everyone safely but Gandhi is a captain who himself left on seeing Congress ship sink.

"When a ship sinks in the middle of a sea, the captain evacuates everyone safely but Gandhi is a captain who himself left after seeing the Congress sinking. Muslims are not alive due to Congress' mercy on us for 70 years, rather we are alive because of the Constitution and by the grace of God," said Owaisi.

The AIMIM leader, however, also slammed RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat at the same rally, by stating that India never had been a 'Hindu Rashtra' nor will he and AIMIM let it become one.

"India is not a Hindu Rashtra and we will never let it become one, we are strongly against it," Owaisi said in response to Bhagwat where the RSS chief referred to India as a country of Hindus.

Addressing a meeting of intellectuals in Bhubaneswar on Saturday, Bhagwat had said: "We are a country of Hindus. Hindu is not the name of a language, province or country but a culture, which is the legacy of all people living in India."

Owaisi did not spare Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the anti-triple talaq law passed by his government too as he went ahead to add, "Our Prime Minister speaks a lot on the issue of Triple Talaq, I am in anguish because of one wife, while the ones who have none, they are happy."

AIMIM is likely to contest on 44 out of the 288 seats in Maharashtra. The elections in the state will be held on October 21. The counting of votes is scheduled to begin on October 24.