Asaduddin Owaisi reacts to ‘I love Muhammad’ row: ‘If there can be Happy birthday PM Modi poster…’

Asaduddin Owaisi

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Friday strongly criticised the controversy in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur over posters reading “I Love Muhammad”, questioning why such expressions of religious devotion should be construed as provocative.

“If there is an ‘I Love Mahadev’ group then what is the problem? What is anti-national here? What sort of violence does this promote? If the word is ‘love’ then why is anyone having a problem? I think we have to play the ‘Mohabbat Zindabad’ song from Mughal-e-Azam for these people. If there can be a ‘Happy Birthday PM Modi’ poster then why can’t there be an ‘I Love Prophet Muhammad’ poster?” Owaisi told reporters in poll-bound Bihar’s Purnea.

What is the ‘I Love Muhammad’ controversy?

The controversy dates back to September 9 when police in Kanpur filed an FIR against nine named and 15 unidentified persons for allegedly installing boards with “I Love Mohammad” written on them on a public road in Kanpur during a Barawafat procession on September 4.

The move triggered objections from Hindu organisations, which termed it a “new trend” and alleged it was a deliberate provocation.

The row gained wider attention after Owaisi in a social media post asserted that saying “I Love Muhammad” was not a crime.

Eventually, it spread to other parts of Uttar Pradesh as well including Lucknow, Bareilly, Unnao as well as in other states like Gujarat and Uttarakhand – some of which led to clashes with police.

Samajwadi Party leader Abu Asim Azmi, meanwhile, slammed the FIR lodged against the 'I love Muhammad' row.

Speaking to mediapersons, Azmi asserted that the act of displaying such posters was not wrong. He also claimed that it is normal to display such posters during Eid.

"This is not wrong because all religions display such posters, but when Muslims do it, an FIR was lodged against them. When the FIR was filed, not only Muslims but also all secular people declared, 'I love Muhammad'. This caused a stir worldwide. So the government started all this and took action. I believe it is normal to display such posters during Eid, and there should not have been an FIR against it," Azmi was quoted as saying by ANI.