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New Delhi, Nov 9 (IANS) All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Sunday hit back at Samajwadi Party MP Afzal Ansari, who had challenged him to contest from the constituency where Muslims are in minority. He said such comments reflect ignorance about how his party works on the ground and its inclusive approach.
Speaking to IANS, Owaisi said, “What do they know about how we work in Hyderabad? They believe that we do not work for Hindus; this is their ignorance. They do not know that there are MLAs in our party who used to throw newspapers; they have never seen my office, where I sit with the doors open five days a week. Fifty percent of those who come are our Hindu brothers and sisters, mostly Dalits.”
He further said, “He doesn’t see this. He left the Communist Party to form Ekta Dal, then went to Behenji (Mayawati), then went to Akhilesh. And now he is talking about family. He needs to know that if one reads the Constitution of India, there is a fundamental right, the right to equality, which talks about real equality, and we have to achieve that equality.”
Earlier, Afzal Ansari, brother of late gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, had said that Owaisi should prove his political strength by contesting from a non-Muslim dominated seat. He had said, “Will Owaisi contest elections from a place where Muslims are a complete minority? There are only nine percent Muslims in Ghazipur. I have been an MLA five times and an MP three times. Owaisi has as many MLAs in the entire country as there are in my family.”
Owaisi, who is campaigning extensively in the Seemanchal region of Bihar, also talked about the issues of underdevelopment, discrimination and neglect of the region.
He has accused rival parties of labeling Seemanchal residents as “infiltrators” and highlighted the collapse of the education and health care systems.
Owaisi also criticized RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav for calling him an extremist, saying, “His words clearly show that his heart is full of hatred, due to which he thinks that people with beards and caps are extremists. People are looking at them.”
–IANS
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