Wednesday, 27 August, 2025
Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi has questioned why Sheikh Hasina is being sheltered in India if the Narendra Modi government is determined to deport undocumented Bangladeshis.
The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief said India should stop hosting the deposed prime minister and send her back to Bangladesh.
“Why are we keeping that deposed leader (Sheikh Hasina) in the country? Send her back. She is also a Bangladeshi, isn’t it?” Owaisi said at The Indian Express’s Idea Exchange event on Thursay.
He said India should “accept the popular revolution” that has taken place in Dhaka and work towards good relations with Bangladesh’s current regime.
Hasina, the Awami League chief, has been residing under Indian government protection in Delhi since her ouster in the July Uprising.
The interim government has requested India to extradite her to face charges over the killing of hundreds during the crackdown, but Delhi has not responded.
Criticising India’s ongoing deportation drive, Owaisi said: “We have one Bangladeshi [Hasina] living in our country and creating problems by giving statements and speeches, and then we have these poor Bengali-speaking Indians from Malda and Murshidabad who were sent from Pune to Kolkata in an aircraft and then dumped in no man’s land.”
“Anyone who speaks Bengali becomes Bangladeshi, is it? It shows the xenophobia that is operating here,” he added.
The Indian MP also raised questions over whether the police have the authority to detain people in such operations.
Owaisi also warned that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process under way in Bihar could lead to “genuine” citizens -- especially Muslims -- being left out of voter lists.
“If SIR happens and names of genuine voters are not included, then questions will be raised about their citizenship,” he said, citing his party’s experience during earlier exercises in Bihar.
Citing the Election Commission of India’s guidelines, he pointed out that if a registration officer fails to trace a voter three times or suspects their nationality, they can refer the case under the Citizenship Act, 1955.
“Our experience of Bihar tells us that a majority of Muslim names are being excluded. What will happen if this gets replicated elsewhere?” he asked.
Owaisi also criticised both the BJP-led government and opposition parties for staying silent on minority rights.
While this political atmosphere was not new, he said it had taken a more dangerous shape since 2014. Many so-called secular parties were now hesitant to speak about the country’s largest minority.
On international affairs, he accused the Modi government of enabling Israel’s campaign in Gaza through silence.
Owaisi said over 65,000 Palestinians, including 20,000 children, had been killed by Benzamin Netanyahu’s administration, yet India remained silent.
He argued that this silence amounted to complicity in “genocide”.
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Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi has questioned why Sheikh Hasina is being sheltered in India if the Narendra Modi government is determined to deport undocumented Bangladeshis.
The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief said India should stop hosting the deposed prime minister and send her back to Bangladesh.
“Why are we keeping that deposed leader (Sheikh Hasina) in the country? Send her back. She is also a Bangladeshi, isn’t it?” Owaisi said at The Indian Express’s Idea Exchange event on Thursay.
He said India should “accept the popular revolution” that has taken place in Dhaka and work towards good relations with Bangladesh’s current regime.
Hasina, the Awami League chief, has been residing under Indian government protection in Delhi since her ouster in the July Uprising.
The interim government has requested India to extradite her to face charges over the killing of hundreds during the crackdown, but Delhi has not responded.
Criticising India’s ongoing deportation drive, Owaisi said: “We have one Bangladeshi [Hasina] living in our country and creating problems by giving statements and speeches, and then we have these poor Bengali-speaking Indians from Malda and Murshidabad who were sent from Pune to Kolkata in an aircraft and then dumped in no man’s land.”
“Anyone who speaks Bengali becomes Bangladeshi, is it? It shows the xenophobia that is operating here,” he added.
The Indian MP also raised questions over whether the police have the authority to detain people in such operations.
Owaisi also warned that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process under way in Bihar could lead to “genuine” citizens -- especially Muslims -- being left out of voter lists.
“If SIR happens and names of genuine voters are not included, then questions will be raised about their citizenship,” he said, citing his party’s experience during earlier exercises in Bihar.
Citing the Election Commission of India’s guidelines, he pointed out that if a registration officer fails to trace a voter three times or suspects their nationality, they can refer the case under the Citizenship Act, 1955.
“Our experience of Bihar tells us that a majority of Muslim names are being excluded. What will happen if this gets replicated elsewhere?” he asked.
Owaisi also criticised both the BJP-led government and opposition parties for staying silent on minority rights.
While this political atmosphere was not new, he said it had taken a more dangerous shape since 2014. Many so-called secular parties were now hesitant to speak about the country’s largest minority.
On international affairs, he accused the Modi government of enabling Israel’s campaign in Gaza through silence.
Owaisi said over 65,000 Palestinians, including 20,000 children, had been killed by Benzamin Netanyahu’s administration, yet India remained silent.
He argued that this silence amounted to complicity in “genocide”.
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