Hyderabad, May 6: AIMIM President and MP Asaduddin Owaisi stated on Tuesday that Muslims in India should develop their independent political leadership instead of merely becoming voters for so-called secular parties. He emphasized the need for Muslims to become citizens with rights.
In a media interaction, Owaisi reiterated, “I want to stress again that Muslims should strive to create their own political leadership. Your votes are going to waste as you are voting for these so-called secular parties that are not truly secular. They have failed to stop the BJP.”
Owaisi further remarked, “After years of relying on these so-called secular parties, there has been no development, and injustices and discrimination persist. The community needs to consider the value of their votes. You voted for them in Maharashtra, Bihar, Delhi, and West Bengal, yet the BJP won in all these states. These so-called secular parties could not stop the BJP. We have seen this before. In Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal resorted to soft Hindutva. In Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray’s party did the same, and to some extent, the earlier Nationalist Congress Party followed suit. The same attitude has been observed with Mamata Banerjee and the All India Trinamool Congress in West Bengal.”
The AIMIM President accused Mamata Banerjee of using Muslims in West Bengal merely as a vote bank, stating that despite being in power for 15 years, she did nothing to improve their socio-economic conditions.
Owaisi pointed out that West Bengal is the only state where Muslims are the majority in 60 assembly constituencies, and in 20 other constituencies, they make up 30-40 percent of the population, yet the BJP emerged victorious.
He expressed hope that the BJP government would work for all sections of society and prevent Muslims from being marginalized. He believes there are several reasons for the Trinamool’s defeat, including a strong anti-incumbency wave, widespread corruption, and the large-scale exploitation of the Muslim community.
Owaisi stated that Banerjee’s image as a liberal and secular leader outside West Bengal is entirely misleading. She has treated Muslims merely as a vote bank and has not regarded them as citizens.
He recalled that Tapan Sikdar was the first BJP MP from West Bengal in 1998, supported by the Trinamool, and won again in 1999. Mamata Banerjee was the Railway Minister in Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s government, leaving and rejoining the government multiple times. The same applies to Uddhav Thackeray and the Aam Aadmi Party. Now is the time for Muslims to unite and prepare their political leadership. At the very least, they will have a representative to voice their concerns against marginalization and injustice, and elected representatives will work for the development of their constituencies.
Owaisi thanked West Bengal voters for supporting his party’s 11 candidates. He said, “Unfortunately, our candidates could not win, but I am grateful for their votes, especially in Kandi, where our candidate received a significant number of votes.”
He claimed that AIMIM has a bright future in West Bengal, particularly in areas like Malda and Murshidabad. The party will work hard and rectify its mistakes.
Regarding the results in Assam, he noted that Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma displaced nearly 50,000 Muslims, yet managed to win the elections.
He stated, “We heard one voice. We will vote for Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi and his party. The result was that the BJP won. If Badruddin Ajmal’s AIUDF had more legislators, the Muslims in Assam could have had a stronger voice.”
On the issue of SIR, Owaisi questioned why Banerjee did not help those whose votes were canceled in West Bengal. He criticized the move to approach the Supreme Court as mere theatrics. He advised that both Banerjee and DMK leader M.K. Stalin had SIR implemented in their constituencies and both lost the elections. He urged Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy to be cautious regarding SIR. Owaisi strongly opposed linking SIR to citizenship but urged people to remain vigilant and ensure a match with the 2002 voter list.
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