Lucknow, Mar 29 (IANS): AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday said that he is a loyal Indian and does not need a certificate of nationalism and patriotism from any one.

“We do not need certificates from anyone, we have given our blood to this nation,” said Owaisi, who was in Lucknow on a brief stopover. He added that “his party was not of Muslims but of Indians”.

“I am myself a loyal citizen of this great country,” Owaisi added while gesturing to his party workers to say “Hindustan Zindabad” and “Jai Hind.”

Earlier, Owaisi was shown black flags by BJP workers at Everready ground near Bulaki Adda, for his recent statement that he will never say “Bharat Mata ki Jai” even if a knife is put to his throat.

In an indirect dig at the Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP said people questioning his patriotism were people who were not even around when the country was seeking freedom from the British. Owaisi also slammed the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party (SP) government in the state and alleged that it had thwarted his rallies out of fear of being exposed.

Owaisi alleged BJP and SP were two sides of the same coin and pointed out that while RSS chief was allowed to come to the state, he was disallowed from holding public rallies. He also predicted a rout for the SP government when the state goes to polls early next year.