Minutes after a gunman, who identified himself as Rambhakt Gopal, opened fire at people protesting the citizenship law near Delhi’s Jamia Millia Islamia, Asaduddin Owaisi challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to “identify him by his clothes”.
The comment was a reference to a remark by PM Modi in which he targeted those opposing the citizenship law, which critics say discriminates against Muslims. In fact, the police stood calmly behind the man, while he shot at the students shouting “who wants Freedom? Here’s your freedom”. One student was injured in the firing and rushed to the hospital.
Hours before the attack, the Jamia shooter had gone live on Facebook. His Facebook posts before the attack indicated that he was aware of the consequences of his actions. “On my last journey, take me draped in saffron and shout slogans of Jai Shri Ram,” one of them read.
Owaisi also hit out at Delhi Police, who came in for fierce criticism after reacting violently to what started as a peaceful anti-citizenship law protest by Jamia students last month.
Thanks to @ianuragthakur & all the 9 PM nationalists who have created so much hatred in this country that a terrorist shoots a student while cops watch
Hi @PMOIndia identify him by his clothes https://t.co/GfrWpBUgGF pic.twitter.com/BwBtrfdukP
— Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) January 30, 2020
“What happened to the bravado that you showed in #Jamia last month? If there’s a prize for being ‘helpless’ bystanders, you’d win it every time,” the AIMIM chief said, tearing into the cops.
