All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader and five-time Member of Parliament, Asaduddin Owaisi, has always been in the news. And most of the time, Owaisi’s name has been on the ticker of media channels because of his controversial statements, speeches, and remarks made on sensitive issues.
Being born into a political family, Asaduddin Owaisi’s father, Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi was the prominent leader and second president of AIMIM. In both his childhood and youth, Owaisi had been surrounded by prominent leaders because of his family’s political background. Asaduddin studied law from the Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn in London.
In 1994, Owaisi came back to India and started his political journey. He made his political debut by contesting from the Charminar constituency in Hyderabad, and has had a political run of more than three decades. However, despite being highly educated, Owaisi has faced charges for inciting hate speech, stirring controversy, and disturbing peace among communities. Asaduddin Owaisi’s commentary on various issues have led to him facing humongous dissent from his contemporaries — especially his strong refusal of the Supreme Court’s Ayodhya verdict in 2019.
Here we have listed out some of the most controversial statements from Asaduddin Owaisi:
1) “15 Minutes Left” Remark
In November 2024, Asaduddin commented on a rally in Solapur, stating, “only 15 minutes left,” which many believed was a hint at an old controversial speech made by Asaduddin’s brother, Akbaruddin Owaisi, in 2012.
Soon after making the statement, the Hyderabad MP apologized. The reference he made dates back a decade when his brother warned “100 crore Hindus” on what his community could achieve if the police were to take a back seat for only 15 minutes. This pronouncement by Owaisi’s brother received major backlash.
After the Supreme Court gave its verdict on the Ayodhya Ram Janam Bhoomi dispute in favour of building the Ram temple on the disputed land, Asaduddin Owaisi was quick to voice against the verdict and called the land allotted by the court to the Muslim side “khairat” (donation/charity).
Bhupesh Sharma, senior member of RSS called Owaisi’s statement “against humanity” Owaisi said that the verdict was a victory of faith over facts and the Supreme Court may be supreme but it is not infallible. He added, “I speak for my party, we do not want this ‘khairat’ (donation or charity). Our fight was for a legal right, for a Babri Masjid. Our fight was not for, to get this piece of land.”
On 25 June 2024, Hyderabad’s MP Asaduddin Owaisi concluded his oath by saying, “Jai Bhim, Jai Meem, Jai Telangana, Allah-u-Akbar.” This chant, voiced by the current president of AIMIM, stirred a lot of controversy as many parliamentarians claimed that he violated the Indian Constitution by including the statement ‘Long Live Palestine’ in his oath.
Owaisi later expressed that his statement did not disrespect the Indian Constitution. “Everyone is saying a lot of things... How is it against the Constitution? Tell me, which provision says this?” Owaisi added.
In October 2017, Yogi Adityanath launched a cleanliness drive at the Taj Mahal, on which Owaisi frequently shared his opinion. He asked the Uttar Pradesh CM that instead of sweeping the Taj, he should start with his own party and cabinet. “Instead of sweeping the Taj Mahal, the Uttar Pradesh CM should clean the minds of the members of his party and cabinet,” Owaisi said.
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said that the youth of our country have to be taught to chant the slogan ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai,’ which represents nationalism. This was said right after the incident of alleged shouting of anti-national slogans in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in 2016.
A few days later, Owaisi said, “I won’t say Bharat Mata ki Jai” in response to Bhagwat, as his demand seemed forced. Owaisi explained in an interview that, “I have strong objections to someone forcing it down my throat and declaring that this is what you have to say to be patriotic — otherwise, you won’t be called an Indian.”
Owaisi’s timeline of controversial political speeches and remarks outweighs his political opinions, which are mostly criticized and defenestrated by his immediate rivals. Asaduddin Owaisi has been actively sharing his opinion on contemporary headlines, including his critical view on ongoing Election Commission of India’s voter list revision. [Rh/VS]