NEW DELHI: All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Wednesday hit back at Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya over his remarks on madrassas, saying that “those with stools spew venom to keep themselves politically relevant.”The reference to “stool” appeared to be a dig at the “stool mantri (minister)” jibe that political opponents have often used against Maurya.“Keshav Maurya can only attack madrasas because his chair is, in fact, just a stool. How could those who love the British possibly like madrasas? Madrasas were the centres of conspiracies against the British and the struggle for freedom. They produced countless mujahideen of independence, while Savarkar was writing mercy petitions to the British,” Owaisi posted in Hindi on X, referring to right-wing ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.Highlighting the historical significance of madrassas, Owaisi pointed out that several prominent Indian figures received their early education in such institutions. He cited India’s first President Dr Rajendra Prasad, author Premchand, and social reformer Raja Ram Mohan Roy as examples. On the other hand, he noted that Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin, Nathuram Godse, was not educated in a madrassa.“Godse, independent India’s first terrorist, was not a student of a madrasa. However, India’s first President, Rajendra Prasad, had studied in a madrassa. Munshi Premchand and Raja Ram Mohan Roy also received their education in a madrasa,” the Hyderabad MP said.“Article 30 of the Constitution grants every minority community the right to establish and run its own educational institutions. It is utterly shameful that a person holding a constitutional office should use such poisonous language…But
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when chairs are scarce, those with stools have no option but to spew venom to maintain their political relevance,” he added.The war of words erupted after Maurya made a controversial remark on Tuesday, linking madrassa education to global terrorism.Speaking to reporters, Maurya had said, “This is a reality, it is the truth, that madrasa education certainly… all the biggest terrorists, whether inside India, those who carried out attacks, or those who carried out attacks across the world… it is a result of madrasa education.”
