Don't worry about BJP's return to power: Owaisi to Muslims
Hyderabad, May 31: AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi Friday said the country's Muslims should not worry about the BJP's return to power as the Constitution guarantees freedom of religion to every citizen.
The Hyderabad MP also hit out at the perpetrators of the April 21 Easter Sunday serial bomb blasts in Sri Lanka, which left more than 250 people dead.
The Bharatiya Janata Party capped a massive mandate by winning a total of 303 seats while the NDA has 353 MPs in the recently elected 17th Lok Sabha.
"India's law, Constitution gives us this permission that we follow our religion," the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief said in his address to a gathering at the Makkah Masjid here.
"When India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi can go to a temple, you can proudly visit a mosque," he told the gathering.
Slamming those behind the terror attacks on churches and luxury hotels in the island nation, Owaisi said there was no place for violence in Islam.
The Islamic State group had claimed responsibility for the attack.
"Carrying out bomb blasts at a place of worship of someone else and killing more than 200 people, including 40 innocent children... what Islam are you talking about," Owaisi said.
The perpetrators were "following the teachings of the devil and not Islam", Owaisi added.
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Spain rejects White House claim of military cooperation with US in Iran war
Madrid: Spain has rejected a claim by the White House that Madrid had agreed to cooperate militarily with the United States amid the ongoing conflict with Iran, even as US President Donald Trump warned of trade consequences over Spain’s stance.
Al Jazeera reported that White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Wednesday that Spain had reconsidered its earlier position of not allowing its military bases to be used in the war against Iran.
“With respect to Spain, I think they heard the president’s message yesterday loud and clear, and it’s my understanding, over the past several hours, they’ve agreed to cooperate with the US military,” Leavitt said.
Clearly denying the assertion, Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said the claim was incorrect and insisted that Madrid’s position had not changed. “Not a single comma has changed, and I have no idea whatsoever what they might be referring to,” Albares said in an interview with the Hora25 radio programme.
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Trump had earlier criticised Spain’s opposition to the war, describing its stance as “terrible” and threatening economic retaliation. “We’re going to cut off all trade with Spain. We don’t want anything to do with Spain,” he said on Tuesday.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez reaffirmed his government’s opposition to the conflict, recalling past military interventions in the region. “The world, Europe, and Spain have faced this critical moment before. In 2003, a few irresponsible leaders dragged us into an illegal war in the Middle East that brought nothing but insecurity and pain,” Sánchez wrote on social media.
He added that Spain’s position remained firmly against war, violations of international law and “the illusion that we can solve the world’s problems with bombs”.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian praised Spain’s stand, saying it reflected ethical responsibility.
“Spain’s responsible conduct in opposing the Zionist-American coalition’s flagrant human rights violations and military aggression against countries, including Iran, shows that ethics and awakened consciences still exist in the West,” he wrote in a post on social media.
Within Europe, Spain has been among the few countries to openly oppose the attacks on Iran. The European Union has instead called for de-escalation and protection of civilians without directly rejecting the US and Israeli military action.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Iran’s missile and nuclear programmes and its support for armed groups pose a serious threat to global security, adding that the bloc has imposed sanctions on Tehran while continuing to back diplomatic engagement on the nuclear issue.
