In a harsh criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi over demonetization, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday called him “a tyrant” who has caused havoc in every house to satisfy his ego. He alleged that banks and ATMs in Muslim dominated areas in the city were not functioning. “Every family is in distress today…I cannot withdraw my money. Who made this law,” the Hyderabad MP said, addressing a public meeting on the occasion of the birthday of Prophet Muhammad ‘Milad-un-Nabi’.

Challenging the Prime Minister’s statement in which he described himself as a “fakir” (ascetic), Owaisi said, “You’re no fakir, you’re a tyrant.” He said Modi’s “vessel of sins” was now full. “In one stroke, you have hit the livelihood of the poor,” Owaisi added.

“Will a fakir wear Rs 15 lakh suit? What kind of fakir you are who wears new clothes and new shawl with new style every day, who wants to inconvenience the poor for 50 days and who is not worried over the loss of 120 lives. You are not fakir, you are zalim (tyrant),” thundered Owaisi.

Owaisi said, “Those in ATM lines will soon stand in voters’ lines. Does a fakir give others grief ?” The Hyderabad MP questioned the “PM’s relationship with PayTM”, and wondered why he was, in a manner of speaking, “advertising” for the e-commerce giant.

“You are in power today but tomorrow you will not be there. Many Prime Ministers came and left. You will also go,” Owaisi told.

On December 3, the Prime Minister at his rally in Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh had said he was being targeted for cracking down on those with black money. “I am being hounded as if I have committed some crime by waging a battle against graft. But, what can my opponents do to me? I am a fakir (hermit)…jhola ley kar chaley jayenge (I will exit with my little belongings),” Modi had said.