Raw. All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi has denied that his party’s role in next month’s Gujarat assembly elections will be to eat into Congress votes.
He held the Congress responsible for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) continuing to be in power in the state for a long time. Owaisi alleged that the ruling BJP was trying to create an “anti-Muslim discourse” during the election campaign by raising issues like the Uniform Civil Code and the Mehrauli massacre.
In an interview given to ‘PTI-Bhasha’ during election campaign in Kutch district, Owaisi refuted the claim that AIMIM is a ‘vote katua’ party. AIMIM is contesting two assembly seats in Kutch district. Owaisi said, “Why is the Congress leveling allegations against us? Is this not covering up your shortcomings?
The BJP has been in power in Gujarat for the last 27 years and the only opposition is the Congress. Who stopped Congress from defeating BJP and why did it (Congress) fail to defeat it (BJP) for nearly three decades? Congress should first answer this question.
The Congress has accused the Aam Aadmi Party and the AIMIM of being the ‘B-team’ of the BJP. Owaisi said, “Let me make it clear that I have not come here to dent anyone’s vote. We have come here to counter the BJP.
He said that his party is contesting only 13 seats out of 182 in the Gujarat Assembly. He said, “The Congress won 169 seats and formed the government. It is because of its (Congress’s) inability and unwillingness to take on the BJP that it (BJP) has been in power for 27 years.
The BJP is winning because of that (Congress).” The AIMIM chief said the Congress has entered into an agreement with the BJP in Gujarat. Referring to the defeat of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in the Amethi Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, he doubted whether it was a “secret deal”.
He said, “If AIMIM is accused of joining hands with the BJP, we can say the same about the Congress. Was Rahul Gandhi’s defeat in Amethi an example of a secret pact between the BJP and the Congress? Because he contested from two seats and won from one (Wayanad) and lost in Amethi.
He said that like any other political party, AIMIM is also contesting elections in Gujarat. He said, “We had initially fielded candidates on 14 seats, but one of our candidates joined the Congress. So now we are fighting on 13 seats. I have faith and hope of getting public support.
AIMIM has entered the fray for the assembly elections in Gujarat for the first time. She is contesting in Muslim-majority constituencies that have traditionally been Congress strongholds. Accusing the BJP of vitiating the atmosphere by creating ‘anti-Muslim discourse’, Owaisi said the issue of Uniform Civil Code has been deliberately raised in this election campaign.
“She (BJP) is raising such issues to create a communal narrative. BJP is trying to bring Uniform Civil Code for Muslims and it will be Hindu Code for Hindus. She is trying to divide people.
He alleged that BJP leaders during the election campaign talk about Aftab Poonawalla, accused in the murder of ‘live-in partner’ Shraddha Walkar, for the same reason. He said, “There are many examples of merciless cruelty of men on women. So, it is an issue of morbid mentality of men and it should be condemned. But it is unacceptable to link this phenomenon with religion.
The BJP is doing this deliberately to create more hatred against Muslims.” When asked what would be his party’s strategy if the AIMIM wins some seats and a hung assembly emerges, he said: Refused to answer that it is a hypothetical question.
