MIM president, Asaduddin Owaisi lashed out at the New Delhi Municipal Council’s (NDMC) decision to rename Aurangzeb road in the city as Dr A.P.J Abdul Kalam road stating the name change will not honour the memory of late former president of the country.
The government should start science scholarships for Muslim and Dalit students in name of Abdul Kalam if it wants to honour him, Mr. Owaisi said here on Sunday. He further, contended that renaming of the road was done flouting guidelines and rules of NDMC. “The name change does not honour Kalam as it reveals only their (government’s) myopic vision,” Mr. Owaisi said. Speaking at a media briefing held in the city on Sunday, Mr. Owaisi said that the move was in violation of a 2007 resolution of NDMC which stated that roads will not be renamed if the names in question are linked with history. “NDMC had resolved that year that names of roads should not be changed,” Mr. Owaisi pointed out.
The barrister questioned further, the reason for name change, asking what could possibly be wrong with retaining the name of Aurangazeb. "What is wrong about retaining the name Aurangzeb? If the government is keen on probing this it should conduct an informed debate about this question across the country,” he said, adding Aurangazeb had fought both Muslim rulers and Hindu rulers alike.
“He had even demolished a mosque in Golconda for the loot,” Owaisi pointed out, explaining Aurangzeb is not a Muslim icon.
He further rebutted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 1,200 years of slavery statement, arguing the country always had a history of resistance and struggle and not slavery.
