Owaisi slams RSS chief's population imbalance remark, says Muslim population declining

Hyderabad: Hitting back at RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's remarks on community-based population control, AIMIM chief and MP Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday said the Muslim population is declining.

"The population of Muslims is not increasing, instead it is declining. The gap between children is also increasing among Muslims. Who is using condoms the most? We are," said Mr. Owaisi at a gathering of Jalsa Rahmatul lil aalameen in Nampally.

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, during the Dusshera rally, had said, "Population imbalance leads to changes in geographical boundaries. Population control and religion-based population balance is an important subject that can no longer be ignored. So, a holistic population policy should be brought and should be equally applicable to all."

Mr. Owaisi, in his speech, cited the National Family Health Survey-5 and said the total fertility rate (TFR) of Muslims has seen the highest drop.

The AIMIM leader dared the RSS chief to talk about missing Hindu girl children. "I want to ask Mohan Bhagwat. Lakhs of daughters of our Hindu sisters are missing from 2000 to 2019. This is the government's figure. But he won't talk about it," he said.

"Ek galat bat ho rahe hai, ke population badh raha hai. Let us talk with data. The 2011 Census shows that there are 10.41 crores senior citizens. The 2022 data shows that there are 19 crores senior citizens. As the population of senior citizens increases, who is going to take care of them? Why is Mohan Bhagwat not talking about this?"

He continued, "The country's senior citizens population is on the rise. There are no jobs and no rise in salaries. How are these senior citizens to survive? I am called the new Jinnah by the BJP. Mr. Bhagwat said that there are Naam Nihad in this country. I want to tell him that Muslims are a recognised minority according to the Constitution of India. A Hindu Rashtra is against Indian Nationalism. It is against India."

After Mr. Owaisi tweeted a video of the Nampally gathering, Bharatiya Janta Party spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said a low population is beneficial for society. "AIMIM chief has become 'byaan purush' who wants to create controversy through his statements. A low population is beneficial for society. The more the population grows the bigger the problem it creates," he said