The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday dared the Central government to declare the Taliban a terrorist organisation and put it on the list of outfits banned under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
The Hyderabad MP also took on Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister for his jibe on “ abba jaan (father in Urdu)”, saying Mr. Adityanath was only diverting attention from the issues pertaining to common people in the State.
Addressing the media in Patna, Mr. Owaisi said, “If the Central government has courage, it should declare the Taliban a terrorist organisation. Since 2013, I’ve been saying that the Taliban’s emergence could be a sign of concern for India and it might benefit China and Pakistan but for the BJP all Muslims are Taliban.”
Ready for polls
Asked if the AIMIM will be contesting U.P. Assembly poll next year, Mr. Owaisi said his party was willing to contest on 100 seats.
“There is no tie-up yet for the poll but we can go also alone,” Mr. Owaisi added. “Those who accuse us for helping any party in elections should explain what happened during the parliamentary poll when AIMIM was not in the fray. In Bihar we contested on 19 seats and won five. We’re making expansion to ensure that Muslims should get their deserved rights,” he said.
Reacting to Mr. Adityanath’s jibe, Mr. Owaisi said he was only diverting attention from common people’s issues of education and health.
“Had he (Mr Yogi) worked, he wouldn’t have to take recourse of “ abba-jaan ” at the time of election. He is only diverting attention of the people from common issues. U.P.’s Muslims have the lowest literacy rate and the highest drop-out rate; U.P. has the highest number of children suffering from malnutrition,” he pointed out.
On the upcoming byelections to two seats in Bihar later this year, the AIMIM leader said, “The State unit of the party would take a call on this.” The Bihar AIMIM president and party MLA from Amour in northeast Purnea district Akhtarul Iman and other party leaders were present at the presser.
NRC through backdoor
Referring to a recent letter from the Kishanganj district magistrate to local officials for identification of suspected foreign nationals, citing a court reference, Mr. Owaisi said “it looks like an attempt to implement National Register for Citizens (NRC) through the backdoor. I’m disappointed and expect the State government to give clarity on the matter before the court”. Kishanganj district in northeast Bihar shares a border with Bangladesh.
On the NRC, Mr. Owaisi further said the Indian government has made a strategic blunder by isolating Muslims in the process. “I always maintained that it should not be on religious lines,” he added.
State BJP leader and party spokesperson Nikhil Anand said Mr. Owaisi was trying to “instigate Muslims in the name of NRC for his brand of politics”.
“Nobody can stay in any country without passport and visa, unless one gets political asylum or is treated as refugee. What is happening in Kishanganj or in Seemanchal (border) area is a normal police process as issue of illegal immigrants is not a secret in these bordering areas of Bihar. Moreover NRC has not been implemented and Owaisi should refrain from taking political mileage out of it.” he said.
