Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi has blamed the “alienation of people” and “lack of governance” for the current unrest in Kashmir. “Alienation is the biggest thing. Human rights violations are happening over there,” the three-time MP said in an interview to The Hindu .
“More than 30 people have died there in the last two-three days. There is no governance. After Mufti Saheb’s [former Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed] death, months were taken to form a government. Why did you take such a huge time to form a government when you [BJP] are in power,” he asked.
According to Mr. Owaisi, when the Mufti died, only a few thousand people were present at his ‘Namaz-e-Jamaaza’ (funeral prayers). On the same day, more than 40,000 people attended a militant’s ‘Namaz-e-Jamaaza’. It clearly shows there is huge disconnect (between the people and government) and this is not good.
The MIM chief said the Modi government had failed to control price rise and fell short in reviving the economy in real terms. Its promise of providing jobs to 1.5 crore youths also had not been fulfilled.
“When it comes to foreign policy, we don’t know what is our policy on Kashmir. We don’t know what is our policy on Pakistan,” he said.
Justifying his stand to extend legal support to five IS suspects in Hyderabad, he said legal aid was part of the fundamental rights in the Constitution. “They [suspects] were facing a grave criminal charges which the courts would decide. But that should not stop me from condemning IS which I have been doing for the last two years. I am one of the few Muslim leaders who has been condemning IS consistently,” Mr Owaisi said.
With regard to the implementation of a Uniform Civil Code, he wondered how there could be one culture and one code in a country like India where people speak 100 different languages and have thousands of cultures. Mr. Owaisi criticised the Akhilesh Yadav government for not allowing him to hold a “single public meeting” in U.P. “This showed that they don’t have regard for freedom of expression. I am forced to move around in a car for 300-400 km a day to meet people and strengthen my party.”
>Click here for full interview
