All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday said he has the highest respect for the deity but ‘hates’ Nathuram Godse, the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi.

“I have the highest respect for Lord Ram but hate Nathuram Godse because he killed the person whose last words were ‘Hey Ram’,” Owais said during a discussion in the Lok Sabha on the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya and the consecration ceremony on January 22.

Owaisi raised concerns about the perceived alienation of the 17 crore Muslims in India and questioned the government’s motives, saying, “Today, 17 crore Muslims of India are feeling alienated, and the country does not need ‘Baba Modi’.”

He demanded clarity from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on whether the government represents all communities or only caters to a specific religious group.

“Is this government under the leadership of PM Modi for a particular community, the practitioners of a certain religion, or the entire country? Does this government have a religion of its own?” Owaisi asked.

Critiquing the government’s handling of the Ayodhya event and the subsequent resolution moved in the Parliament, Owaisi questioned whether it symbolised the triumph of one religion over another.

“Through this resolution on the January 22nd event in Ayodhya, is this government sending out a message that it marked the triumph of one religion over the other? What larger message are they sending out to the 17 crore Muslims in the country?” the AIMIM chief asked.

The Ram temple construction took centre stage on the last day of Parliament’s budget session Saturday with both houses holding a discussion on its consecration ceremony and Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying adoption of a laudatory resolution on it will give constitutional strength to the future generations to feel proud of the country’s values.

Several members in both Lok Sabha and Rajya participated in the discussion that lasted a few hours. The CPI-M staged a walk-out from Rajya Sabha.