Owaisi questions the lack of Muslim VCs in Telangana universities

Asaduddin Owaisi, chief of the All-India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), questioned the lack of Muslim representation in the appointment of Vice Chancellors (VC) to universities in Telangana on Thursday.

The parliamentarian from Hyderabad examined the representation of castes among VCs and registrars.

Five VCs are from the Velama caste, six from Reddys, two Munnuru Kapus and one each from the Yadavs, scheduled caste and scheduled tribes, Owaisi said.“Why has a Muslim not been made a Vice Chancellor, who will answer this question?” he asked. “When everyone is being made (a VC) why is a Muslim not?” the AIMIM chief lamented.

Prior to this, Owaisi criticized Maharashtra’s deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis for his recent “Aurangazeb ki aulaad,” remarks. In response, Owaisi asked Fadnavis whether he knew who were the offspring of Nathuram Godse and Vaman Shivram Apte.

Owaisi’s comments come in the aftermath of the Kolhapur violence in Maharashtra, where a protest against objectionable social media posts about Aurangzeb and Tipu Sultan turned violent.

On Wednesday, a curfew was imposed in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, following a violent clash between two groups. To disperse the crowd and bring the situation under control, police used lathi-charges.

Despite being allies in the state, Owaisi has recently been hitting out at the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government. Additionally, he said that after consulting all stakeholders, the party would consider contesting outside the Old City of Hyderabad.

In his speech in Adilabad, Owaisi criticised the Telangana government for failing to keep promises made to the Muslim community. According to reports, Owaisi stated that there was a bias against the minority community when it came to extending financial support to places of worship, in addition to the failure to build an International Islamic Centre at Gachibowli.