The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Wednesday, September 30, criticised AIMIM chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi over his comments on the Centre’s High-Level Committee on Demographic Changes (HLCDC).
VHP national spokesperson Vinod Bansal said the committee’s exercise covers all religious communities and is focused on studying illegal immigration and changes in population patterns.
The committee, constituted under the Union Home Ministry, has sought information from states and Union territories on “visible changes” in religious demography in districts, industrial clusters and border districts over the past 15 years.
What Has The Committee Asked States For?
The HLCDC has asked states and Union territories to provide religion-wise data related to vehicle registrations and details of any “sudden increase in commercial vehicle licences” in border districts.
It has also sought information on property transfer patterns in tribal areas, alleged illegal transfers and encroachments of tribal land.
The states have further been asked to provide details of government, aided, private and religious educational institutions established in tribal areas during the last 15 years.
According to Bansal, the exercise is intended to examine demographic changes across religious communities.
What Did Owaisi Say?
Owaisi criticised the exercise in a post on X on Tuesday, alleging that the data collected could be used to target Muslims.
“The agenda of this commission is not to formulate better policies based on the foundation of data, but rather to twist and distort the data in such a way that Muslims can be targeted and even their remaining scraps of rights can be snatched away from them,” Owaisi said.
He questioned the purpose of the exercise and raised concerns over its possible impact on Muslims.
VHP Hits Back At Owaisi
Responding to Owaisi, Bansal said the study was not limited to any one religious community.
“The study is for every religion in the country, but a foreign barrister sees only one religion in it,” he said.
Bansal also questioned the basis of Owaisi’s concerns, saying that the committee had not yet collected the data.
“If the government or the committee has said nothing and no data has even been collected yet, then from where did this MP smell that the data will be distorted and the rights of Muslims taken away?” he asked.
Bansal also accused Owaisi and others of previously spreading misinformation among Muslims over issues including the triple talaq law, the Supreme Court verdict on the Ram temple and the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
“These are the same people who spread lies in the Muslim society about the ban on triple talaq and incited people against the court verdict on the Ram temple, spread the lie that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act would take away the citizenship of Muslims and are now obstructing government work and provoking extremists,” he said.
He added, “They should snap out of this anti-national mindset of theirs.”
