Mumbai, India, April 26, 2015 -
Upbeat with its impressive debut in Aurangabad municipal election, the
MIM is now gearing up for Mumbai municipal polls to take on the saffron
alliance of BJP and Shiv Sena, which is at the helm of the country's largest
civic body.
Refuting the charge of Sena that MIM is
"poisoning" the minds of Muslim and Dalit voters, party chief
Asaduddin Owaisi alleged that the "real potent venom" has been spewed
by Sena leaders by demanding that Indian Muslims should be deprived of their
voting rights. "They can continue with their pathological hatred for us.
But what finally counts is what governance have they provided in the last six
months in Maharashtra or 10 months in Delhi or the last many years in
Aurangabad. That has been a great let down. The (Aurangabad) results show that
this hatred against me or my party is not going to give them any political
dividends anymore," Owaisi told PTI in an interview.
The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) made an
impressive debut in Aurangabad, bagging 25 out of the total 113 seats in the
municipal elections there. The Sena has not been able to digest the
"humiliation" meted out by the BJP, he said, adding that the Uddhav
Thackeray-led party is only taking out the frustration that it has with its
ally on the MIM.
"They keep saying I want to hoist a Pakistani flag in
Aurangabad. What right do they have to question my nationalism? If I continue
to fight the RSS and Shiv Sena, does it make me an anti-Indian and
pro-Pakistani? What kind of nationalism is this that if we politically oppose
the Sena, RSS and the BJP, my nationalism is questioned immediately?"
asked the 45-year-old MP from Hyderabad.
Exuding confidence after the Aurangabad polls, Owaisi, the
head of the Hyderabad-based MIM, said they would now contest more elections in
the state and raise people's issues. "We will definitely contest every
election in Maharashtra and we will put forward people's issues in future as
well. We are the only political party in Aurangabad which fought on the issues
of drainage, water, roads, toilets, etc. Tell them to show what work have they
done there in the last so many years?" he said.
"The Sena should be cautious now for the BMC
(Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) election because their style of
functioning of getting elected by calling others names has been rejected by the
people. We will show them what politics actually means. You cannot win with an
agenda of Hindutva. You have to ensure development of everybody," he said.
The BMC polls are slated for 2017.
"The real potent venom has been spewed by the Sena in
the form of Sanjay Raut's words when he demands cancellation of voting rights
of Muslims. If they do not change their attitude, it will be the beginning of
their end," Owaisi said. Criticising the Sena and the BJP further, Owaisi
asked what they have done in Aurangabad? Their performance has been pathetic
with regards to providing civic amenities in the district located in Marathwada
region, he said.
"Corruption has been ruling the corporation and there
is scarcity of water, and lack of proper roads and drainage. They have to
understand that (effective) governance is very important which they have failed
to deliver," he said. Owaisi said that MIM's six Dalit candidates won in
Aurangabad and asked how many Sena nominees managed to get elected there.
"Why has not a single Muslim candidate won from the
Shiv Sena? This shows the Sena-BJP is not trusted. You can't take away the
voting rights of Muslims only because they do not trust you. If I am poisoning
the minds of voters, a charge which I squarely refute, why did the Shiv Sena
not give an anti-dote to it?" he asked.
He said that the saffron combine has failed to deliver in
the 10 months of rule at the Centre and asserted that the MIM will continue to
create competence in the parliamentary form of democracy. "The large
number of youth participating in MIM's activities strengthens the country's
democracy," he said. – PTI
No comments:
Post a Comment