AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has accused Union Home Minister Amit Shah of spreading false claims about population growth and infiltration. Responding to Shah’s recent remarks, Owaisi said the data on Muslim population growth is being misrepresented for political purposes.
In an interview with ANI, Owaisi said, “Amit Shah made a statement about population. He is telling lies after lies. From the first census to the 2011 census, the Muslim population has increased by only 4.4 per cent. I think his mathematics is weak.”
He added that right-wing leaders have been making contradictory claims about population trends. “Mohan Bhagwat said one community’s population is growing rapidly, and Yogi Adityanath said the native population is decreasing. Now Bhagwat is saying everyone should have three children. If there are 10 people and the number increases by 10, that looks like a 100 per cent rise — maybe Amit Shah doesn’t understand that,” Owaisi said.
The Hyderabad MP also questioned Shah’s claim that the population disparity was due to infiltration. “Government data shows that the total fertility rate among Muslims has fallen the most. If infiltration is happening, you are the Home Minister — why can’t you stop it? Calling every Bengali-speaking Indian Muslim a Bangladeshi is wrong,” he said.
Owaisi’s remarks came after Amit Shah claimed that the difference in population growth between Hindus and Muslims from 1951 to 2011 was largely due to infiltration, not fertility rates. Shah said the Hindu population had declined by 4.5 per cent while the Muslim population had grown by 24.6 per cent.
He also warned that infiltration and demographic changes threaten India’s “culture, languages, and independence,” calling on citizens to recognize these as serious issues.
