Mumbai: A man on Tuesday night hurled a shoe at All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi while he was voicing his opposition on the triple talaq issue at the rally in Nagpada, south Mumbai.
The Mumbai Police said the MP was not hurt in the incident and the accused has been identified but not arrested yet.
The incident took place at around 9.45 pm.
"I am willing to lay down my life for my democratic rights. These are all frustrated people, who cannot see that the government decision on triple talaq has not been accepted by the masses in general and Muslims in particular," Owaisi later told news agency PTI.
"These people (referring to the person who threw the shoe at him) are the ones who follow the ideology of the killers of Mahatma Gandhi, Govind Pansare and Narendra Dabholkar," he said.
Owaisi claimed that such incidents were happening at the behest of people, who follow "hate ideologies" and that they are getting emboldened with each passing day.
"This will not stop us from speaking the truth against them," the Hyderabad MP said.
Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone-III, Virendra Mishra, said the police have identified the man who hurled the shoe at Owaisi with the help of CCTV footage. They were in process to arrest him, said Mishra.
AIMIM MLA Imtiyaz Jaleel said Owaisi was unhurt and continued his speech after the incident.
"We do not care for such incidents. Some people and parties do not want us to speak the truth. Mr Owaisi continued with his speech (despite the incident). We simply ignore these type of acts," he added.
The AIMIM chief had earlier described the triple talaq bill as a conspiracy against Muslims and a move to punish men from the community.
A committee was constituted to look into the row over the film “Padmaavat” but no such step was taken on the triple talaq issue, said the Lok Sabha member from Hyderabad on Monday night as he launched a scathing attack against the Centre.
“The triple talaq bill is a conspiracy against the Muslim community. It a tactic to bring out the women of the community on roads and send the men to prison,” the AIMIM leader had said at a public meeting.
At the same time, he asked the Muslim community to socially boycott those who take the instant triple talaq route to divorce.
He said ₹2,000 crore should be allocated for Muslim women in the budget.
The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2017 was passed by the Lok Sabha in the recently concluded winter session, but could not be passed in the Rajya Sabha with the Opposition demanding that it be sent to a Select Committee for a detailed scrutiny.
According to the draft law, instant triple talaq will attract a jail term of three years for the husband. (PTI)
