Hyderabad, March 2: Attempts are being made to erase the identity of Indian Muslims by snatching their mosques and imposing uniform civil code, AIMIM president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi said on Saturday.
He alleged that conspiracies are being hatched in the name of the Citizenship Amendment Act to force Muslims to show proof of their citizenship.
Stating that the writing on the wall is clear, Owaisi termed coming elections as very crucial for the country.
He was speaking at 66th anniversary of the revival of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM).
He hoisted the party flag at Darussalam, the party headquarters, to celebrate the day.
Appealing to people to defeat BJP, Owaisi said they should realise that by creating hatred against Muslims, the BJP is trying to make them happy but this will not give them jobs and fill their stomach. “You can’t build your houses by demolishing our mosques,” he said.
The Hyderabad MP said AIMIM’s effort would be to defeat BJP and prevent Narendra Modi from becoming the Prime Minister for a third term.
He, however, made it clear that AIMIM will contest wherever it is strong as its voice in the Parliament is the voice of the poor and the oppressed people of the country.
Owaisi made a scathing attack on the rivals of Majlis saying they were acting at the instance of BJP and on the direction of RSS to defeat it in Hyderabad. He termed them as ‘small BJP’ and vowed to defeat their designs like Majlis did in 1996 and 2009.
He exuded confidence that MIM will retain Hyderabad and Aurangabad seats and its candidate Akhtarul Imaan will be elected from Kishanganj this time.
“Hyderabad seat is not of Majlis alone. This is the voice of the poor and oppressed. This is their identity. If Imtiaz Jaleel wins Aurangabad seat again, it is not his or Majlis’ victory alone. If Akhtarul Imaan is elected, this will not be his victory alone. He will be able to raise the voice of the voiceless in the Parliament,” Owaisi said.
He remarked that protection of secularism is not the responsibility of Muslims and Dalits alone. He said Majlis will not follow diktats of so-called secular parties on where to contest and where not to contest.
He pointed out that in Himachal Pradesh the difference between a number of BJP and Congress MLAs was 12 and still BJP won the Rajya Sabha seat. “In Uttar Pradesh six MLAs of SP voted for BJP candidate in Rajya Sabha elections because the candidate was from the upper caste. Who is the B team of BJP,” he asked.
Owaisi gave a detailed account of the revival of the party and said in the turbulent times after police action, his grandfather Moulvi Abdul Wahid Owaisi took a bold step by reviving the party with a constitution to fight for the rights guaranteed by the Indian Constitution.
He claimed that Majlis succeeded in creating political awareness. The party believes that the problems can be solved through political power.
He recalled that his father Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi built on the foundation laid by Moulvi Abdul Wahid Owaisi and under his leadership, the party established educational institutions and hospitals.
“It was due to the sacrifices made by our elders that today the entire country looks to AIMIM what it has to say on every issue. Today we have 2 MPs, 7 MLAs in Telangana, two in Maharashtra, one in Bihar. We have 44 representatives in municipalities in states like Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh,” he said and vowed to continue the party’s expansion.
