BJP counters Owaisi on hijab remark, cites Muslim women leaders globally

New Delhi: AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has sparked a political and social debate in the country with a major statement. Owaisi said that 'one day a woman wearing a hijab will become the Prime Minister of this country.' Owaisi's statement has drawn a sharp reaction from the BJP.

BJP MP Sudhanshu Trivedi said, "I want to ask Mr. Asaduddin Owaisi, the president of Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, that Muslim women have been Prime Ministers in several countries; how many of them have you seen wearing a burqa? In Bangladesh, both Begum Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina were Prime Ministers, in Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto – how many of them did you see in a burqa? Did you see Megawati Sukarnoputri, the female Prime Minister of Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim country, in a burqa?"

He further added, "Regarding the attitude towards Muslim women, I want to ask Mr. Owaisi that his lineage directly traces back to the family of Prophet Muhammad, including Shah Hussain and the Jordanian royal family. How many women from those families have you seen wearing a burqa? This shows that what the world's major Muslim countries are not doing, what the direct descendants of Prophet Muhammad are not doing, Owaisi and all the people of the INDIA alliance are eager to politicize it."

Meanwhile, BJP leader Gaurav Vallabh strongly countered Owaisi's statement. He said, "Owaisi hates Hindus and has nothing to do with the development of the Muslim community. Owaisi doesn't want to make a Muslim woman the PM, but a woman wearing a hijab. He didn't say that a Muslim woman should represent the country, but that a Muslim woman wearing a hijab should become the PM." 'This person is trying to mislead the Muslim community simply to further his own political agenda.'