Salt-roti mid-day meal: Owaisi slams UP govt for booking journo

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Wednesday condemned the Uttar Pradesh government's move to register a case against a journalist for posting a video of school children being served salt and roti as their mid-day meal.

Owaisi also wanted to know why the media fraternity was not boycotting the Yogi Adityanath government.

"What is the journalist fraternity doing about it (slapping case against the journo), apart from issuing a statement," the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader said when his attention was drawn towards the case against the UP scribe.

"Why doesn't the journalist fraternity boycott the UP government for one day or if its not one day, at least for half an hour?" he added.

He further cautioned the journalists that they can be booked for any type of reporting.

"Please be careful. What kind of nonsense is this. In a democracy, the press has to be free. I condemn it (incident). The UP government's step has to be condemned and I am totally with the journalist who has shown the truth," he added.

Replying to Assam Minister Himanta Biswa Sharma's tweet that India shall forever remain a home for persecuted Hindus, Owaisi said the country's citizenship was not given on the basis of a person's religion.

"I challenge the minister of Assam or any Sangh Parivar person to show me that where the mention of religion is there (in the Constitution). Citizenship is not given on the basis of religion," he said.

Responding to a post by Owaisi on Twitter, Biswa had earlier tweeted: "If India does not protect Hindus who will protect them? Pakistan? India shall forever remain a home for persecuted Hindus, irrespective of your opposition Sir.