Regional parties will play key role: Asaduddin Owaisi

Hyderabad: All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) President Asaduddin Owaisi predicted that the regional parties would take the Indian politics by storm, providing an alternative to both Congress and BJP. Owaisi believes that Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) President and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao has the capability, political thinking, courage and secular outlook to provide such an alternative.

The Hyderabad MP was addressing a public meeting late on Wednesday night organised by AIMIM to thank people for electing seven candidates of the party in the just-concluded Telangana Assembly elections. Owaisi thanked all leading Muslim socio-religious organisations which supported MIM and TRS in the elections. The meeting continued till past midnight. The MP said he would stand by the TRS chief in his efforts to play an important role in the national politics.

Owaisi said a ping-pong game between Congress and BJP was not good for the country, its secularism, federalism and diversity. "This is not in the interest of country's minorities, Dalits and all secular-minded Hindu brethren," said added. He believes that the third force in the form of regional parties would enhance the bargaining power of the poor and the oppressed people. Owaisi appealed to people to ensure that not a single Lok Sabha seat in Telangana would win by BJP and Congress in the next year's elections.

Voicing his concern over falling polling percentage in Hyderabad, Owaisi appealed to people to make sure that everyone exercised their franchise even if the elections were to be held during holy month of Ramadan. Referring to Congress party victory in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan Assembly elections, the AIMIM leader said it was a victory by default. Pointing out that BJP got nearly half of the seats in both the states, he said this was not enough to stop BJP from winning considerable number of Lok Sabha seats. The MP said the AIMIM declared support to TRS as no communal riot occurred in Telangana during last four-and-a-half years and unlike states in the north, there was not a single incident of mob lynching or reign of terror in the state. He said the government took various initiatives for the educational upliftment of Muslims.

Owaisi said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP President Amit Shah, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Congress President Rahul Gandhi and others came to Hyderabad and attacked AIMIM as they wanted to break the unity of Muslims. Akbaruddin Owaisi, one of the seven AIMIM legislators re-elected to Assembly, urged people to strength AIMIM, as it is the voice of the poor and the oppressed.