Jalna: AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday hit out at Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat for his statement that mob lynching was a western concept and it should not be used to defame India. Addressing the Vijayadashmi function of the RSS at Reshimbagh ground in Nagpur, Bhagwat said lynching is a "western construct" and should not be used in the Indian context to defame the country.

He said the word 'lynching' does not originate from Indian ethos but comes from a separate religious text. Reacting sharply to Bhagwat's statement, Owaisi said Muslims, Dalits and even Hindus have been victims of incidents of mob lynchingin the country. "Are these incidents not mob- lynching?" he asked. The Hyderabad MP said perpetrators of mob lynching were "sons" of Nathuram Godse, the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi. Referring to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in New Delhi after assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, he said they were also incidents of mob lynching.