Asaduddin Owaisi's remarks trigger controversy; BJP compares him to Jinnah
AIMIM chief Owaisi alleges part of his speech being quoted out of context
New Delhi, Dec 24: AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi's remarks at a poll rally cautioning the Uttar Pradesh Police triggered a controversy on Friday with the BJP comparing him to Muhammad Ali Jinnah, even though he clarified that the context of his remarks was deliberately edited out to misrepresent it.
In a series of tweets, All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Owaisi shared a video clip which has been widely circulated on social media and said the remarks made by him were in the context of atrocities against Muslims by the state police, which has been edited out of the clip.
In the video clip shared by him, Owaisi is heard saying that Yogi Adityanath will not always be the chief minister and Narendra Modi the prime minister. "We will not forget the injustice. We will remember this injustice. Allah will destroy you through his strength. Things will change. Who will come to save you then? When Yogi will return to his mutt and Modi will retreat to the mountains, then who will come?" he said.
Owaisi said the edited one-minute clip of his 45-minute speech was being circulated to divert the attention from the alleged hate speeches made at a Dharma Sansad in Haridwar which he alleged as "genocidal meet".
"I did not incite violence or give threats. I talked about police atrocities.... I said we will remember these police atrocities. Is this objectionable? Why is it offensive to remember how police have treated Muslims in UP? I asked cops: who will come to save them when Modi-Yogi retire? Indeed, who will? Do they think they've lifetime immunity?" Owaisi tweeted while clarifying his position.
Taking on Owaisi over his remarks, BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi compared him to Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, and said AIMIM leaders are used to making such mischievous remarks.
"...soul of Jinnah resides in Owaisi," Trivedi said, adding that the Hyderabad MP's remarks are similar to that of Jinnah made in 1946, a year before partition, while talking about direct action.
BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya tweeted, "Owaisi, like (Mughal emperor) Aurangzeb and Jinnah, is the face of civilisational battle that Sanatan Dharma has faced for millennia. Balance of power is the need of the hour."
In order to distract from #HaridwarGenocidalMeet, a clipped 1 min video is being circulated from 45 min speech I gave in Kanpur. I’ll set the record straight:
— Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) December 24, 2021
1. I did not incite violence or give threats. I talked about POLICE ATROCITIES Here’s the full video in TWO PARTS [Cont] pic.twitter.com/buZWZmVNLa
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Hamas accepts cease-fire proposal for Gaza, but Israel's stance still uncertain
Jerusalem, May 6: Hamas announced Monday it has accepted an Egyptian-Qatari cease-fire proposal, but there was no immediate word from Israel, leaving it uncertain whether a deal had been sealed to bring a halt to the seven-month-long war in Gaza.
It was the first glimmer of hope that a deal might avert further bloodshed. Hours earlier, Israel ordered some 100,000 Palestinians to begin evacuating the southern Gaza town of Rafah, signalling that an attack was imminent. The United States and other key allies of Israel oppose an offensive on Rafah, where around 1.4 million Palestinians, more than half of Gaza's population, are sheltering.
An official familiar with Israeli thinking said Israeli officials were examining the proposal, but the plan approved by Hamas was not the framework Israel proposed.
An American official also said the US was still waiting to learn more about the Hamas position and whether it reflected an agreement to what had already been signed off on by Israel and international negotiators or something else. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity as a stance was still being formulated.
Details of the proposal have not been released. Touring the region last week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had pressed Hamas to take the deal, and Egyptian officials said it called for a cease-fire of multiple stages starting with a limited hostage release and some Israeli troop pullbacks from Gaza. The two sides would also negotiate a “permanent calm” that would lead to a full hostage release and greater Israeli withdrawal, they said.
