All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief, Asaduddin Owaisi has said that the country needs to have more regional political voices. He said, “This country needs additional regional parties and political voices from disadvantaged sections”, adding that “This country’s diversity can not be mirrored if solely 2 parties lead this country”.
Owaisi while talking to The Hindu also said that he is backing TRS’ K C Rao to be the CM of Telangana again. On being asked about his relation with TRS, he said, “Yes, we want KCR [K. Chandrasekhar Rao] to become CM again”.
However, he readily said, “But from whichever place MIM is contesting, whether our opponent is BJP, TRS or Congress, they are opponents”.
Owaisi is known to make straightforward comments and does not shy to speak his mind. On being asked whether he would support Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s to form an anti-BJP alliance, he replied, “I was opposing Mr. Naidu in 1998. Had he withdrawn his support then [in 2002], the Gujarat riots would have stopped immediately. In 2014, he again supported Modi. Then a series of ‘mob lynching’ happened. Then the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill was brought. Mr. Naidu was still with BJP. Why wasn’t the nation saved when Gujarat riots happened? Why wasn’t the nation saved when the mob lynching and ghar wapsi were happening. And now because you [Naidu] have come out of BJP [alliance], you give an order to me to fall in line. Those days have gone”.
Standing with his recent statement that the BJP wants a Muslim-mukt Bharat, he said, ”That is true. The RSS chief in 2015 said Muslims are stolen property. Are we chori ka samaan? There is a litany of continuous statements wherein you want to give a message that Muslims are not equal citizens, not equal partners, but tenants and second class citizens. What is this business of changing names? Where is the end to it? Did they get a mandate to change names? Despite the matter being in Supreme Court, the RSS chief says, an ordinance must be brought [for building Ram temple]. What is the message you are sending? Can an ordinance be brought for a community? No. It will be a blatant violation of the right to equality. They have decided that they will implement their agenda which is against our [India’s] great secular ethos. They are creating a kind of fear psychosis and uncertainty.”
Talking about Rahul Gandhi’s shift to showcase what is called a soft Hindutva, he said, “They [Congress] are trying to tell people of India that in terms of Hindutva, they are better than Mr. Modi [Prime Minister Narendra Modi]. Then what choice is left? That is why I say regional parties will play an important role in 2019”.
He also said that the upcoming assembly elections in the five poll-bound states will be “a test for the BJP” adding that “If they lose these States, they cannot repeat the same performance of 2014 in parliamentary elections”.
As, AIMIM is mostly based in Telangana and Hyderabad, the party has not fielded any candidates from other four poll-bound states. Shedding light on this, he said, “There were a lot of people who came to me from Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan and wanted the party to contest. I said, we have not yet established our body over there. We have not done meetings or membership. I am of the opinion that it is not advisable and it will not be politically helpful also”.
Lately, the party has been quite active on social media and using it to put forth its ideas and views. AIMIM chief said that his party had always got a negative media coverage from the mainstream news channels and so they have decided to connect to the people through social media.
AIMIM has also organized a series of women-only meetings this time which is anew introduction to the party, Owaisi said, “Though we have been addressing their issues, this time we said we will have women-only public meetings and the traditional public meetings wherein you talk and everybody goes back will not be used. This time we said, no, you [women] tell us: what is it that you want? We want to hear from you. That is why I have promised that I would create a more streamlined and systematic women’s cell. Now, these women have really enlightened me”.
He further said that he does not believe in making a manifesto as these are always used to [make promises] and are not lived up to. “The best thing that a representative can do is to be accessible to the electorate. Once you’re accessible you solve the problems and represent people in a more clear way. Being accessible is very important”, he added.