Owaisi can travel from London but sick to answer queries

Only common people face the harshness of law and rules. The other India of VIPs has its own system of governance and can manipulate rules to suit them. The case of Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi is from the other India, where bending and manipulation of laws and rules is a routine affair.

Can the second class India believe that Owaisi, who is facing multiple cases for his alleged "hate speech", is healthy enough to travel from London but needs to be medically checked to answer a few questions? There are few questions even the Congress government in Andhra Pradesh need to answer on the soft approach to the case.

Citing ill-health, he failed to appear before police and sought more time on Jan 7, 2013. A police team took the MLA from his house at Banjara Hills to the Gandhi Hospital where he underwent some tests.

The curious fact is that the police allowed the mob build up before the hospital and waited till late in the morning to escort Owaisi to the hospital. Instead of issuing notice yesterday, the Nirmal rural police at Adilabad district issued this morning a notice to Akbaruddin to make himself present for the medical examination.

Investigating officer A Raghu had found Akbaruddin fit enough to face police inquiry in connection with the case filed against him for the alleged provocative speech made on Dec 24, 2012. However, the MIM legislator had informed that he was suffering from pain and had sought four days time to appear before the Nirmal police for questioning.

"In view of his medical examination, police issued a notice to him to come to the Gandhi Hospital where government doctors will carry out his medical examination. Once the medical test is complete, a certificate will be issued and based on it further course of action will be taken," a police officer said.

Owaisi has approached the Andhra Pradesh High Court seeking to quash all the FIRs registered against him at different police stations in the state.

Manufacture a crisis and benefit from it

Meanwhile, the MIM says it will fight the crisis, both on the democratic and legal front. Taking a high moral stand, Akbar's brother and MIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi says it is a testing time for the Majlis but ultimately it will emerge victorious.

According to sources, on Monday, he termed the whole thing as a 'conspiracy' designed by the Congress and the BJP to defame the Majlis. He conveniently forgot that it was his brother who made the hate speech and not the Congress or the BJP.

Laying bare his agenda, always suspected by the political experts, he said such situations were nothing new for the party and expressed hope that it would emerge stronger from this crisis. This could well be a springboard for further progress, the senior Owaisi remarked.

Even now, he does not admit that his brother could be wrong. Asaddudin said, "if there was anything objectionable in the speech, the local people at Nirmal would have immediately protested. But nothing of that sort happened."