Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Oct 1 (PTI) All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Thursday said his party was open to forge a poll alliance in Uttar Pradesh as it does not want the BJP to come to power there for the third time.
Addressing a press conference here, the Hyderabad MP also alleged that the government’s push for the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) is aimed at turning India into a “Hindu Rashtra”.
When asked about the next year’s UP assembly polls, Owaisi said his party was ready to join hands with other parties.
“We don’t want the BJP to come to power in Uttar Pradesh for the third time. In order to stop this from happening, we are open for alliance. What else can we say? Earlier in Bihar, we sought just six seats when four (MLAs) of us were taken away. When Shiv Sena split, you called it a murder of democracy, but no one spoke for us there (in Bihar). We fought again and people voted for us. We bagged five seats there,” he said.
In June 2022, four out of five AIMIM MLAs in Bihar joined the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), allowing the latter to reclaim its status as the single largest party in the state assembly.
”It is up to them (political parties in UP) now. We will contest the elections there with all our force, and whenever an alliance happens, we will let you know. We will decide our fate and make our leadership,” Owaisi said.
The next legislative assembly polls in UP are scheduled to be held early next year to elect all 403 members of the House.
He also took a dig at the political parties that say they lost elections because of Owaisi and vote theft at the same time.
”The opposition once said that they lost the elections because we (AIMIM) were in the fray. Sometimes, they say that they lost the elections because of vote theft. How is this possible? They should be clear,” he said.
He also alleged that the UCC implemented in different states is a “cut and paste” exercise of Hindu laws.
”The Maharashtra government is working on UCC now. But the laws in Uttarakhand, Assam and Gujarat are the same. It is just a ‘cut and paste’ of Hindu Marriage Act and Hindu Succession Act. Tribals were excluded (from the UCC) in Uttarakhand, Gujarat because they have a different religion and life. But even I face the same situation.
“When marriage in Islam is a contract and it is a bond for life time, how can Hindu Marriage Act be imposed on me? Why should I marry according to it?” he asked.
He alleged that the UCC was an effort to make India a Hindu Rashtra.
“BJP leaders say that women should get equal share (in property). In Assam, Uttarakhand and Gujarat where UCC was implemented, the power of will helps a person give away (the property) to just one son when he has three. UCC is an effort to implement the laws of Hindus over Muslims. This is a violation of Article 25, 26 and 29 (of the Indian Constitution). It is a way to make India a Hindu Rashtra,” Owaisi said. PTI AW NP
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