DC Interview: Secular parties have no plan to fight BJP, says Owaisi
MIM president Asaduddin Owaisi, 46, outlines the party’s plans, explains why he is against the BJP and the rest of the Opposition and discusses his favourite issues in an exclusive interview with Ch. V.M. Krishna RaoExcerpts:
Q. On an earlier occasion, you had expressed severe apprehensions on behalf of the minorities if the BJP-led Narendra Modi comes to power at the Centre. After 15 months of the Modi government, how do you view the situation?
I am not making any fresh observations. Anyone can go through the ministry of home affairs figures on the crime situation in the country. More riots have taken place during the last one year. Top Sangh Parivar leaders’ utterances are going on unabated. The BJP does not believe in what they are saying when they say India First.
The ban on beef by the Maharashtra government, compounded by the severe drought in Marathwada, has created an economic crisis for Muslims and Dalits in the state. The government has decided not to appeal in the Macca Masjid bomb blast case. The government is not going for appeal against Aseemanand’s bail in the Samjautha blast case. There is pressure on the government to go slow on the accused in the Malegaon blast case.
The ministry for minority welfare has not released the Rs 900 crore budget. Things have now worsened. Dropout rates have increased. Poverty levels have increased. We do not know the fate of the Amitabh Kundu Committee report (on the status of minorities). Whether or not the government is sincere in implementing the report is not known. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said in Dubai that there is no good Taliban and no bad Taliban. I want to ask him whether the accused in the Macca Masjid blasts are good or bad. Whether Aseema-nand is good or bad.
Q. Do you find that alarming?
These is cause for concern for the people of India. Ponder and consider. In about 15 months, they have not fulfilled their promises over eradicating corruption, getting back black money stashed abroad. The rupee has got a beating. It is 66 per dollar now.
Q. Do you say the so-called secular parties have failed to contain Mr Modi?
Of course, that is why they are not able to hold up the juggernaut of Mr Modi. They are not able to stand against Mr Modi and the BJP politically or socially. Even now, they do not have a proper strategy in place.
Q. Is that why you have decided to expand the MIM to other areas?
When we were not expanding, we were asked why we were not expanding. When we decided to expand the party, we are being asked why we are doing this. It is natural for every political party. It is in human nature. It is wrong to say that Asaduddin has only started expanding the MIM’s base now. In fact the foundations were laid by the erstwhile great leaders of my party.
Q. Do you see the MIM as a national party and yourself as a national leader?
I am not aspiring to become a national leader. Nor am I interested to make the MIM a national party right away. In UP, we have been working hard and we will contest in the Assembly polls. Mahar-ashtra and Karnataka are the focus of our attention. Definitely, we will take part in the Assembly elections whenever they take place. In Bihar, we are not ready yet. In Delhi we didn’t participate because we were not ready for Assembly elections. But we will contest in the municipal election in Delhi. It is too far-fetched to think about all this. No, I don’t want to be a national leader. Till I am alive, I cannot rest on laurels. I must work hard and I am a soldier. My mission is not to be a commander-in-chief. India is a heterogeneous country. India cannot afford to have a two-party system. In a country where you have more than 35 religions, more than 200 languages, how can a two-party system work? After all it is my party’s right to contest in the elections which is the essence of democracy.
Q. You must have heard about the criticism that the MIM is splitting the ‘secular votes’ to help the BJP.
That is absurd. The BJP won in Haryana, Jharkhand and Jammu and Kashmir. How is the MIM responsible for that? They are not able to take on the BJP. It is easy to blame a bearded man. It is for them to go in for introspection. I cannot sit here and be judgemental on their performance. It is for the Congress to see and other parties to see why they have lost. The BJP has to be taken on ideologically. I heard that the Congress wants to adopt a soft Hindutva approach to take on the BJP-RSS combine. What is the point? Mr A.K. Antony says ‘we go soft on Muslims and we are identified with the minorities’. Let them identify with the majority and see the results.
Q. Do you want to establish a forum at the national level to take up issues concerning minorities and their rights like your late father did, heading the All India Action Committee on Babri Masjid?
The body is not there anymore. All the Babri Masjid cases are being taken up by the Muslim Personal Law Board. Wherever possible we will raise our voice. I am willing to work under anyone. It is more important to ensure that our political objectives are met.
Q. How about your relations with the TRS? Will you have any electoral adjustments with it?
The MIM never had any pre-poll alliance with any party. I will give you a recent example. When the Opposition parties boycotted Parliament over the suspension of some members, I also stayed away. But the TRS MPs were inside the House. TRS leader A.P. Jithender Reddy even said in the Lok Sabha that Mrs Sonia Gandhi is Badi Amma and Ms Sushma Swaraj is Choti Amma, while forgetting to mention my name (laughs).
Q. Congress leaders like Mr Shabbir Ali often accuse the MIM of being silent on the TRS government’s promise of 12 per cent reservations for minorities.
The Muslims of Telangana state and Andhra Pradesh are getting 4 per cent reservations. This was due to a stay order by the Supreme Court. If orders on the 12 per cent reservations are issued in a haphazard manner, what will happen? Some people or organisations like the Sangh Parivar who are against the Muslims will go to court and get them quashed. Then the present 4 per cent reservations will also go once and for all. I don’t lose anything, Mr K. Chandrasekhar Rao or Mr Shabbir Ali will not lose anything. It is the poor Muslims who would suffer.
Mr Shabbir Ali or other critics must know that a bird in hand is worth two in the bush. The MIM wants the TRS government to ensure that 12 per cent reservations are done properly. The government has appointed a committee with some experts on the subject. It is not an impossible issue. We need to bring it (in a form) that is acceptable to the courts. We want the government to address all constitutional aspects.
Q. How about the Chandrasekhar Rao government’s performance with regard to the city?
We want Mr Rao to implement all the promises he has made to the people including the development of the city. Our legislators are on the job of getting funds for their constituencies from the government time and again. We have requested funds for works. I think so far Rs 90 crore has been given by the CM. Frankly there was no development between 2009 and 2014 at all. Mr N. Kiran Kumar Reddy destroyed Hyderabad by not taking up any works. The governance of Mr Kiran Kumar Reddy was buffoonery and mischievous and nothing was done. At the same time we are firmly against the demolition of the Osmania General Hospital building. We will continue to fight the government on the issue.
