Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi quoted Pakistani revolutionary poet Habib Jalib while delivering a Budget 2024 speech in the Lok Sabha on July 29.
Owaisi, the president of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), read out passages from Habib Jalib's famous Urdu nazm 'Dastoor' to criticise the “discriminatory” budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament last week.
“I wanted to say something about employment. A member just said that jobs are being created. To that I say…phool shakon pe khilne lagen, tum kaho, jaam rindon ko milne lagen tum kaho, chaak sinon ke silne lagen tum kaho, is khule jhhot ko, zehan ki luut ko, main nahīn manta main nahin jaanta..(Flowers are in bloom, you might say; wine is offered to those who drink, you might say; wounds are being healed, you might say; this open lie, this booty of ghosts, I refuse to accept, I refuse to acknowledge)” Owaisi said, stressing that the government may continue to claim that jobs have been given away, but he does not believe it.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented Budget 2024 in Parliament on July 23. The Budget 2024 comes against the backdrop of a changed political landscape in the country. The BJP fell short of a majority in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, forcing it to rely on its National Democratic Alliance (NDA) allies, including N Chandrababu Naidu's Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United), to form the government at the Centre.
Dastoor, by Habib Jalib
'Dastoor' by Habib Jalib is often quoted during protests and demonstrations. In 1962, Pakistani military dictator Ayub Khan forced an indirect election of an executive president through an electoral college, instead of direct democracy. Jalib challenged the dictator and wrote 'That's true.' The 'nazm' in fact, vents the political frustration of the ordinary Pakistani. Jalib would continue to sing the poem in public gatherings and on stages.
Earlier, Owaisi had stressed that Muslims had been ignored in the 2024 budget.