PM Modi Worried About 'Cow Economy', Not Country's Economy, Says Asaduddin Owaisi

Hyderabad: AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Wednesday alleged Prime Minister Narendra Modi talked about 'Om' and 'cow' in Mathura with an eye on assembly elections in states including Maharashtra and Haryana.

Talking to reporters here, the Hyderabad MP also took a dig at the PM, saying Modi was worried about "cow economy" and not about the country's economy.

"... his target was assembly elections in Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand, he spoke like this, keeping that in view," he alleged.

Owaisi said every Indian heard the sound of 'Om' and Bhajans from temples and prayers from mosques, Gurdwaras, churches and others in the morning which is the beauty of

India.

Modi should have stated that "all this beauty is there in the country, that people of all religions live here. But, Prime Minister talks about only one religion. It is very painful," he said.

The Prime Minister was worried about "cow economy" and not about the country's economy and decline in the GDP and did not want debates on such issues, Owaisi charged.

"Prime Minister wants that no debate takes place about painful issues facing the country like poverty and unemployment and lay-off and attention of people is removed

from them," he said.

Owaisi said Modi had expressed concern about mob lynchings but it was not having any impact.

"...your government, your state governments are standing" by the oppressors instead of ensuring justice for the victims, he alleged, referring to the Jharkhand Police dropping murder charges against 11 accused in the mob lynching case of Tabrez Ansari.

The AIMIM leader said he knew cow was a matter of faith for Hindu brethern, but right to life under the Constitution was for humans.

While launching the National Animal Disease Control Programme (NACDP) to control foot and mouth disease (FMD) and bacterial infection brucellosis in livestock, Modi hit out at his critics who argue that mention of words 'Om' and 'cow' takes India back to the 16-17th century, saying they are hell-bent on damaging the country.

"But, it is unfortunate that in our country the moment the word 'Om' falls on the ears of some people, they get alarmed ('baal khadhe ho jaate hai')," he said.

"They also get alarmed by the word 'cow'. They feel as if that the country has gone back to the 16-17th century. This type of knowledge has only been used by people hell-bent on damaging the country and they have left no stone unturned to do so," Modi said, without naming anyone.