New Delhi: AIMIM national spokesperson Syed Asim Waqar joined the Congress party on Wednesday and delivered a sharp rebuke to the Asaduddin Owaisi-led outfit, accusing it of fighting opposition parties rather than the BJP it claims to oppose.
Waqar formally joined the Congress at the AICC office at 24 Akbar Road in the presence of AICC in-charge for Uttar Pradesh Rajendra Pal Gautam, UP Congress chief Ajay Rai and AICC Minority Department chairman Imran Pratapgarhi.
Speaking at a press conference after his induction, Waqar said all those who love the country share one objective: removing the BJP from power and forming a secular government that works in the public interest.
“I felt, being in the AIMIM for so many years, that we pay lip service by stating that the BJP must be removed but on the ground we do not fight the BJP. We fight the Congress, the SP, we are fighting every other person who wants to remove the BJP,” Waqar said.
He added that if the opposition keeps fighting among itself rather than the BJP, it ultimately helps the ruling party. “If we are fighting the enemies of the BJP then we are friends of the BJP,” he said.
Waqar asserted that Congress, Rahul Gandhi and his team are the only force genuinely fighting the BJP across the country, and that this conviction drove his decision to switch parties.
Rajendra Pal Gautam highlighted that under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership as Leader of the Opposition, a nationwide movement is growing around issues of education, employment, students, women and marginalised communities. He noted that senior leaders from various parties are joining Congress and strengthening the hands of party president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi.
As AIMIM’s national spokesperson, Waqar was a prominent voice in Uttar Pradesh and known to be close to Owaisi. Political observers view his departure as a development with potential consequences for AIMIM’s electoral ambitions in the state.
Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh are scheduled for early next year, with the BJP expected to face a combined challenge from the Samajwadi Party and the Congress.
