Owaisi's dig at BJP over PM Modi's Uzbekistan award referencing Babur

NEW DELHI: AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi took a dig at the BJP after Prime Minister Narendra Modi was conferred Uzbekistan's highest state honour.

PM Modi was presented with the Order of "Oliy Darajali Dustlik" by Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev during his two-day state visit to the Central Asian country. The honour is Uzbekistan's highest state award.

Reacting to the recognition, Owaisi pointed to Uzbekistan's historical connection with Babur, who he said was born in the Fergana Valley in present-day Uzbekistan and founded the Mughal Empire in India.

"I congratulate the BJP; the very country from which Babur came to India has conferred an award upon the Prime Minister. The Fergana Valley is in Uzbekistan. Wherever the Prime Minister goes these days, he returns with an award. Congratulations. You used to hurl so many insults in Babur's name, yet the people of that very country are now honoring you with an award. The Sangh needs to reflect on this... We hope that members of the Sangh Parivar and RSS supporters will no longer speak of Babur in that manner," he said.

The remarks come against environmental backdrop of the BJP and RSS's frequent criticism of the Mughal period and references to Babur in political discourse, particularly in discussions around the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya and India's history.

PM Modi, meanwhile, thanked Mirziyoyev for the honour and described him as his "brother". He said India and Uzbekistan would work together for the welfare of the Global South and humanity.

"My friend, the father of the economic revolution in Uzbekistan, who has served as a role model across this entire region in scaling new heights of development--this two-day visit of mine will always be remembered," PM Modi said.

Owaisi's comments on the award came while he was also criticising RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat over his recent remarks on Hindu-Muslim unity. Bhagwat, speaking at the 'One World One Humanity' event in New York, said there was no difference between human beings and that different religious paths led to the same goal.

Owaisi described Bhagwat's remarks as an "old trick from the RSS playbook".

"What the current RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has said is an old trick from the RSS playbook. They will never disavow or retract the things the RSS has consistently stated," he said.

"There is a distinct difference between the speeches they deliver for the outside world and those meant for their own members--this has always been their playbook style," Owaisi said.