All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen President Asaduddin Owaisi criticized the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Bharatiya Janata Party for allegedly favoring the Manusmriti instead of the Constitution of India, which was drafted by Dr BR Ambedkar.
Speaking at the Jalsa-e-Rahmatul-lil-Alameen event held at Darussalam to mark the 1501st Eid Milad-un-Nabi, the Hyderabad MP questioned the RSS’s allegiance to the Constitution.
“I am asking those associated with the RSS about Manusmriti. Is it not true that on November 26, 1949, we adopted the Constitution? Yet, four days later, on November 30, a mouthpiece of the RSS published a complaint against it, stating that it wasn’t a constitution at all and that it should have been the Manusmriti. They had issues with the Constitution drafted by Babasaheb Ambedkar,” Owaisi said.
He also criticized Hindutva ideologue VD Savarkar, contrasting his conduct in Andaman Cellular Jail with that of Muslim freedom fighters.
“Savarkar was in support of Manusmriti. While he was in Andaman jail, he was writing letters to the British, saying, ‘I am with you, please release me.’ But what were we doing? Allama Fazl-e-Haq Khairabadi was also in jail; he endured hardships but never wrote a ‘love letter’ to the British. Instead, he issued a fatwa for Jihad against them. Even today, his grave stands in Andaman as a testament,” Owaisi stated.
He claimed that the first prisoner sent to the Andaman Islands was a cleric from Hyderabad.
“Listen, BJP and RSS people, who was the first prisoner in Andaman? It was not your father, grandfather, or ancestor. It was Hyderabad’s Maulvi Alauddin, the Imam of Mecca Masjid. He was the first prisoner,” Owaisi told the gathering.
Owaisi’s remarks come amid increasing political tensions between the BJP and Congress. The BJP recently criticized Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, for his comments on the Manusmriti. The party accused Gandhi of making repeated statements undermining India’s traditions, cultural heritage and democratic institutions. Several BJP leaders, including Chief Ministers, alleged that Gandhi’s remarks sought to “belittle” India’s civilizational values.
At the “Chhatron ki Goonj” event in Pune, Gandhi strongly condemned a passage attributed to the Manusmriti that restricts women’s independence.
Gandhi quoted the text: “In childhood, a female belongs to her father. In youth, she belongs to her husband. When her lord is dead, she belongs to her sons. A woman must never be independent.” He said, “This is a direct quote from the Manusmriti, and these words are a shame, because these words should never ever have been spoken.”
The Congress MP called for dismantling patriarchal structures to empower women, urging the audience of female students to “smash the prevailing patriarchy” for true empowerment.