Owaisi Keeps Door Open to Anti-BJP Alliance in UP, Decision After October 2
Asaduddin Owaisi said AIMIM is open to joining hands with parties seeking to keep the BJP out of power in Uttar Pradesh, with an alliance decision due after October 2.
AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi has said his party is willing to align with forces seeking to prevent the BJP from forming a government in Uttar Pradesh for a third straight term, while indicating that any decision on an alliance will be taken after October 2.
Addressing a public meeting in the Cantonment constituency of Kanpur on Sunday, the Hyderabad MP urged voters to build up AIMIM's strength in the state, arguing that the Muslim community needs its own voice in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly.
"We also do not want the BJP government to be formed in UP for the third time. If you want to stop the BJP from forming the government again, come and join hands with AIMIM," he said.
Mr. Owaisi said his party would wait until October 2 before announcing whether it would enter into any electoral understanding. He recalled AIMIM's experience during the Bihar polls, saying the party had proposed contesting six seats as part of an alliance but was instead targeted with what he described as false allegations.
Turning his attention to the Samajwadi Party, Mr. Owaisi asked the gathering how many riots had occurred during the tenure of party chief Akhilesh Yadav. He cited the Muzaffarnagar riots of 2013, saying around 50,000 people had been forced out of their homes and villages, and questioned the level of Muslim representation in the SP government of that period.
He also accused successive state governments of neglecting the socio-economic and educational concerns of Muslims. With elections approaching, he said, many parties would approach the community and invoke old fears to press for its support.
The AIMIM chief criticised the BJP government over its handling of madrassas and invoked the role of Muslim clerics and religious scholars in the freedom struggle. He took aim at Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath over his references to freedom fighter and former Congress president Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar.
Speaking about the history of Kanpur's madrassas, Mr. Owaisi claimed that Muslim ulemas had issued a fatwa against the British during the freedom movement.