BJP sharply reacts to Owaisi's ‘Hijab-clad woman will become PM of India’ — ‘Constitution stops nobody, but…’ | Today News

Asaduddin Owaisi, chief of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), sparked a controversy on Saturday by stating that a hijab-clad woman will eventually serve as India's Prime Minister.

He attributed this possibility to the Indian Constitution, which provides equal status to all communities — a contrast he drew with Pakistan, where top constitutional offices are restricted to a single religion.

While addressing an election rally on Friday in Maharashtra's Solapur district ahead of the January 15 civic polls, Owaisi said: “The Constitution of Pakistan says that only a person belonging to one religion can become the country's prime minister or the president. But the Constitution, written by Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, clearly states that any citizen can become the prime minister, the chief minister of a state or even a mayor.”

"By the grace of Almighty, the day will come, when neither I nor the present generation will be around, but a daughter wearing a hijab would become the prime minister of India," the AIMIM president said.

Owaisi's comments triggered a sharp rebuttal from the ruling BJP.

BJP National Spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla challenged him to make a 'Pasmanda' muslim or hijab-clad woman the president of AIMIM.

"Hijabwali will become PM, says Miyaan Owaisi. Miyaan Owaisi - constitution stops nobody, but I challenge you to make a Pasmanda or Hijabwali as your president of AIMIM first," Poonawalla said in a post on X.

Party leaders labeled the Hyderabad MP's remarks "irresponsible," arguing he was presenting a distorted view because many Muslim women actively oppose the hijab.

BJP MP Anil Bonde further criticized Owaisi for offering "half-truths," claiming that women do not desire subjugation and pointing to ongoing anti-hijab protests in Iran as evidence. Bonde also alleged a rising demographic imbalance in India, calling for Hindu unity in response.

During his campaign rally for the upcoming civic polls, Owaisi also urged the electorate to reject candidates from the parties of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis (BJP) and Deputy CMs Eknath Shinde (Shiv Sena) and Ajit Pawar (NCP).

He specifically addressed the debate surrounding Mumbai's mayoral post. While the BJP has insisted that the city’s next first citizen must be both a Marathi and a Hindu, Owaisi dismissed such rhetoric as a purely electoral tactic.