HYDERABAD: Hitting out at the government over demonetisation, AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being a “tyrant” and alleged that banks and ATMs in Muslim-dominated areas in the city were not functioning.
“Every family is in distress today… Who made this law?” the Hyderabad MP said, addressing a public meeting on the occasion of the birthday of Prophet Muhammad ‘Milad-un-Nabi’.
The Prime Minister should remember that those standing in queues now to withdraw their money would stand in queue again to vote against him (in the elections),” Asaduddin Owaisi.
Talking about Modi’s ‘fakir’ remark, he asked whether a ‘fakir’ wears a “Rs 15 lakh suit”.
“What type of a ‘fakir’ is he?…Would any ‘fakir’ give pain..You are not a ‘fakir’, you are a ‘zalim’ (tyrant).”
“Modi should come to the old city of Hyderabad to see the suffering of the people who cannot withdraw their money”, said the AIMIM chief about the constituency he represents in Parliament, which has large Muslim population.
“Why cashless economy? We don’t want a cashless economy. Give me my money. How many credit cards are there in India? I bet there won’t be even one or two per cent of credit cards with Muslims. Not with Dalits. Banks are not open in our Muslim localities. If a bank is open, it is declared ‘red zone’ and loans are not available. If ATM is installed, money is not coming out of them in our localities.”
The NDA government has failed to check price rise and bringing back black money, Owaisi alleged.
On 3 December, the Prime Minister at his rally in Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh had said he was being targeted for cracking down on those with black money.
(With inputs from PTI)