Hyderabad MP Owaisi, Union Minister for Minorities Rijiju trumpets the interpretation of minorities

Asaduddin Owaisi Photo Credit: SHASHI SHEKHAR KASHYAP

The interpretation of Muslims as a minority community became a bone of contention with Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi, who accused Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijija of trying to deny Muslims their fundamental rights under Article 30 of the Indian Constitution.

Mr. Owaisi, who represents Hyderabad in the Lok Sabha, objected to the way the Union minister compared the population of Parsis and Muslims. While the number of the latter is the equivalent of a village, the former was large enough to be the equivalent of the six largest countries in the world.

“Simple math question for @KirenRijiju, which is bigger? 79.8% or 14%? If Hindus are the majority community, then every non-Hindu group is a minority community,” Mr. Owaisi replied to X. “If we accept the minister’s anti-minority logic,” then Hindi speaking people cannot be a minority like the Indian and American populations combined, because their non-Hindu population combined is not a minority. accused the minister of indulging in propaganda.

Mr. Rijiju responded by pointing out that while Muslims may be pointed out as a minority in India, they should not be “allowed to feel small because their numbers would be the 6th largest country if counted as a nation”.

“Every Indian is equal. Even the Parsis with a population of about 53,000 are as safe as the Muslims. Every religion has flourished in India. Only the population of Parsis and Hindus (in percentage terms) has come down from India,” the Union minister wrote, even as he identified Mr Owaisi as the “senior Muslim leader in India” and the Congress as a Muslim League party.

“Pseudo-secular political parties are desperate to secure Muslim votes, but anyone seeking Hindu votes would be branded communal. Everyone should be treated as equal and no community should be treated as a vote bank. Congress looks at Muslims as a vote bank,” he added.

Published – 20 May 2026 19:14 IST