AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi alleged Narendra Modi-led central government of partiality in giving out cash at minority dominated areas. Owaisi, in a rally held at Hyderabad, said that Government hasn’t provided cash in these areas, both in ATMs and Banks. He added that especially the Muslim community is being unnecessarily troubled by Government through demonetization.
Asaduddin Owaisi has always been known for his inflammatory speeches against Hindus and inciting his followers. His today’s speech was nothing short of dividing the community, filling the minds of Muslims with hate for the Modi government and their Hindu brethren, while being totally oblivious to the fact that the 3 day bank holiday was the reason behind the lack of cash in the banks and ATMs. However, as we move towards the steady availability of cash, Owaisi seems to be running out of counters, and had to play the Muslim card and victimization.
This straight accusation from Asaduddin Owaisi of unavailability of cash on the basis of religious population raises a lot of obvious questions at AIMIM’s standpoint that need to be addressed.
Is there a single fact or evidence supporting the accusation that either the banks or the government has provided directives to ensure less cash reaches the muslim localities? Is there a Government provision or a banking regulation allowing such a thing? Is there even a practical possibility of such a conspiracy to occur in the extremely complicated cash distribution system? If the case of ATMs is true, what’s stopping the victims from trying the ATM of another locality instead, when people of all religions are doing the same?
Imtiaz Zalil, an AIMIM leader replied on a news channel, that he doesn’t need to prove anything. He said, “It’s BJP’s responsibility to prove otherwise.” While Owaisi also said that Muslim majority areas lack banks in general, it is evident he never raised the issue ever before, neither in parliament, nor in media. He did not apply or write to anyone raising his concerns. The banks are not set up overnight like a tea stall. It takes months and even years to set up a new branch. Why was this concern (that is lack of branches of banks) not raised by him earlier, when he was part of the central government? This question is more of an answer in itself. This says all about the genuineness of his intentions of Muslim welfare.
Beyond the politics, we must all remember that banks aren’t welfare institutions. They are there for business. They will be present, where there is more likelihood of profit. This explains a lack of all private banks in remote areas as their sole intention is profit. Muslims tend to avoid banks in general because interest is forbidden in Islam. This might be the rational cause of lack of branches in Muslim populated areas. The people are eventually responsible for this. Now, after demonetization, banks have become a necessity. Banks cannot appear overnight. The benefits of having bank accounts are innumerable and are beyond the scope of this article.
The Islamic leaders preach people about things that are haram (forbidden) in Islam, including Rabi (interest). They encourage them to avoid such things, but it is impractical to do so in modern times. Music, for example. (Salman bhai?) Owaisi himself would be using credit cards, online wallets and banks, and should encourage his followers to do the same, that is help modernizing the Muslim community. Instead, he jokes about PayTM and misinterprets the word “cashless” trying to mock a well appreciated initiative by the central government.
While it is impossible at best and stupid at worst to restrict the dispense of cash in Muslim majority localities, such speeches are going to widen the canyon between the Hindus and Muslims furthermore, which is not a bad news for the Hindus as much as the Muslims (2014 elections for example). By playing the Muslim card (he has only one card) at the time when the entire nation is supporting demonetization and the cash is becoming more and more readily available, Asaduddin Owaisi has proven himself to be the next Jinnah, looking for ways to instill hate in us for his petty politics.
TFI encourages both our Muslim and non-Muslim readers alike to not listen to hate mongers such as him, and help the government making India corruption free by employing cashless transactions.