AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday dared Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) to utter Babri Masjid’s name while seeking votes from Muslims. Addressing a public meeting in Maharashtra, Owaisi said Muslims in India are duty-bound to protect mosques and they should think that the Babri masjid “still exists”.

“Muslims should never forget December 6, 1992. They should keep in mind that Babri Masjid still exists and will remain so, otherwise another Babri (incident) will happen. Muslims should remember Babri like Jews remember the Holocaust,” he said.

The AIMIM president, who has been trying to increase the party’s footprint outside Telangana, urged the audience to question the commitment of Congress, NCP, and other so-called secular parties to the cause of communal harmony.

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He urged them to ask a single, potent question when these parties come seeking votes: “Can you say Babri Masjid with your own tongue or not?”

The reference to Babri Masjid, a mosque in Ayodhya demolished in 1992 by Hindu extremists, remains a deeply emotive and polarising issue. By invoking the Babri Masjid, he aimed to draw attention to the failure of mainstream parties to protect the interests of Muslim communities and uphold secular values.

Owaisi said Congress leader Ashok Chavan joining the BJP sheds light on the “real team of RSS and the B team of BJP”.

Targeting the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Owaisi said Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was not “anti-Muslim” but the Sangh tries to portray him as “anti-Islam”.

“Ashok Chavan quit Congress to join BJP. I heard Kamal Nath may follow suit. AIMIM was once called the B team of BJP. Now tell me, which is the real team of the RSS? Which is the real team of the BJP?” he asked.

He also took potshots at NCP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.

“I have heard that he (Ajit Pawar) is fielding his wife against his sister (Supriya Sule). What’s happening in the politics of Maharashtra?” Owaisi asked.