Owaisi: 'Sight of a Masjid Gives BJP, Yogi a Headache' After Saharanpur Demolition

Hyderabad parliamentarian Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday condemned the demolition of a masjid inside the Saharanpur Collectorate complex in Uttar Pradesh, describing the action as a "fit example of hatred" and openly questioning the Yogi Adityanath government's commitment to the rule of law.

'The sight of a masjid gives them a headache'

Owaisi, who heads the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadull Muslimeen, said the BJP and the Uttar Pradesh government appeared to be pained by the very sight of mosques — alleging that "the sight of a masjid gives them a headache". The Constitution, he stressed, guarantees freedom of religion, and the government cannot simply pick and choose when to honour that promise.

"I want to ask the BJP, and especially CM Yogi Adityanath, whether the constitutional guarantee of freedom of religion is not there for Muslims? You are destroying our places of worship?"

Demolished before sunrise

Much of Owaisi's anger centred on how the demolition was carried out. The masjid, he maintained, dated back to 1911 and had remained in use until September this year. Yet authorities barricaded the area and brought the structure down at around 5 a.m. — even though, he noted, the lower court had not granted a stay.

"The BJP and Yogi administration does not have faith in the higher courts," he said. The timing, he alleged, gave the game away: the government did not want the matter to reach a higher court because it knew its position was "wrong".

Legal questions, and an appeal to the President

Owaisi also invoked legal provisions relating to "waqf by user" and the law of adverse possession, questioning why the masjid committee had not been allowed to appeal. He asked whether the rule of law had ended — and said the President should intervene if that was the case.

Condemning the demolition, he advised the mosque committee to approach the higher courts and offered his assistance in pursuing the matter.