New Delhi, July 29 : AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi said on Monday that Muslims have become untouchables in the country as they have no proper representation in the affairs of the nation.

'Muslims neither have any political representation nor are they part of the nation building process. They are suffering from every side,' the AIMIM MP said during his speech on the Union Budget in the Lok Sabha.

He also claimed that Muslim students are being deprived of minority scholarships.

'In 2019, PM Modi said that over one crore scholarships will be given to the minorities. However, only 58 lakh scholarships have been given to date. Around 37 per cent of minority applicants are deprived of scholarships every year,' he said.

Owaisi also said that he had requested the government to make the scholarships demand-driven, which has not been done by the Central government.

'Since 2007-08, minority scholarships have not been increased for the Muslims,' he added.

Claiming that Muslims are India's biggest minority at 17 crore, Owaisi said, 'The Centre should stop hating minorities, especially the Muslims. They (Muslims) should be given their rights conferred to them by the Consitution. How can PM Modi make 'Viksit Bharat' if 17 crore of the country's population are subjected to hatred?"

He also said that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman mentioned four communities in her speech, but did not speak about Muslims.

'I want to know from this government whether these 17 crore people don't include youth, farmers, women, and the poor,' he asked.

"In our beloved country, the most poor are the Muslims," he said, adding that Muslim women are the most illiterate in the country.

"As per the AIDS and PLFS data, the lowest assets are among the Muslims while the consumption level as compared to other communities is also the lowest among the Muslims,' Owaisi said.

He also claimed that in educational institutions, the enrollment rate of Muslims in the 15 to 24 years age bracket is only 29 per cent, while it is 54 per cent for the Schedule Caste, and 51 per cent for the Hindu OBC.

Claiming that only Rs 97 crore has been allocated in the Budget for the Hajj pilgrimage, Owaisi said, 'The Hajj committee has become a hub of corruption. Pilgrims have to pay money to select a building in Saudi. They also have to pay money to select a company in Mina and Musdalifa. The government should initiate a CBI inquiry into this scam."

/IANS