"Modi calls himself biggest backward leader but...": Owaisi slams PM over UGC regulations

Bhainsa (Telangana) [India], February 6 (ANI): AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has launched a sharp attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, cautioning Dalit and backward class communities over what he described as the government's failure to address caste-based discrimination.
Addressing a rally in Telangana's Bhainsa, Owaisi criticised the Prime Minister for projecting himself as the "biggest backward class leader," while alleging that his government failed to stand by anti-discrimination measures in higher education.
Referring to the University Grants Commission Regulations, 2026, Owaisi said the rules aimed at preventing discrimination in educational institutions were challenged in the Supreme Court and subsequently stayed.
"I would like to tell the Dalits and even the backward class people of the Hindu community that Modi says he is the biggest backward class leader. UGC regulations were drafted to ensure non-discrimination in educational institutions. It was challenged in the Supreme Court and stayed. It is a Govt which couldn't tell the Court that why Rohith Vemula died, why a tribal doctor died in Maharashtra," said Owaisi.
Amid an uproar around the country over the alleged "discrimination" against the General Category in the University Grants Commission (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, 2026, the SC has stayed the regulations.
The new regulations, introduced to curb caste-based discrimination in colleges and universities, require institutions to establish special committees and helplines to address complaints from students in the Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), and Other Backwards Classes (OBC) categories.
Owaisi also alleged a tacit alliance between the BJP and the Congress against the AIMIM in the upcoming municipal elections. He claimed that in Bhainsa's Ward No 15, the BJP withdrew its candidate and urged voters to support the Congress.
The remarks come ahead of Telangana's municipal elections, with polling scheduled for February 11 and counting on February 13. Elections will be held in 116 municipalities and seven corporations, with nominations accepted from January 27 to January 30. (ANI)