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AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi ruled out allying with the INDIA bloc for the Bihar election, citing “one-sided love.” AIMIM Bihar president Akhtarul Iman wants to form a third front.
AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi (PTI Image)
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday ruled out allying with the INDIA bloc for the Bihar assembly election, saying “one-sided love” cannot happen.
The Hyderabad MP said AIMIM Bihar president Akhtarul Iman wants the party to contest as part of a third front. Earlier, Iman wrote a letter to RJD chief Lalu Yadav to include AIMIM in the Mahagathbandhan. However, the RJD has requested Owaisi’s party to stay out of the Bihar election.
“One-sided love is not going to happen… The people of Bihar should understand that the accusations that were made against us were based on lies and were made because they do not want a leader of the poor and oppressed people to become their political leadership. They want the people of Bihar to be their slaves… We will fight our elections well… Our president, Akhtarul Iman, has said that we should try to form a third front… This was an effort from our side… Everything has come before the people of Bihar for a reason,” he said.
The AIMIM contested 20 seats in the 2020 Bihar election and shocked its rivals, winning five seats. However, four of five MLAs later joined the RJD.
Owaisi also hit out at the Election Commission over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls, calling it a “back door NRC (National Register of Citizens).”
“They (ECI) do not have the right (to determine citizenship)… The Home Ministry, SP Border have the right… Why are they doing this if they don’t have the right… This is why I said that this is back door NRC… There are elections in Bihar in November. Why do they want to make the people of Seemanchal powerless…?”
As Bihar prepares for its Assembly polls later this year, the EC has launched a special drive to verify the credentials of voters.
“It is unfortunate that a constitutional body is not making a statement and things are being revealed through sources. Who are these sources?… Our party was the first to say that SIR is NRC through the back door… We demand the number of those BLOs. We will ask our party members to meet those BLOs and ask them where the people from Nepal, Myanmar and Bangladesh are that they are talking about… The SIR was conducted in 2003. How many foreign nationals were revealed at that time?… In July 2019, the Law Minister said in the Parliament that no foreign national was found in 2016, 2017 or 2019… These sources are shameless… Why is the reputation of a constitutional body being hampered?” he asked.
(With inputs from ANI)
Saurabh Verma covers general, national and international day-to-day news for News18.com as a Senior Sub-editor. He keenly observes politics. You can follow him on Twitter –twitter.com/saurabhkverma19
Saurabh Verma covers general, national and international day-to-day news for News18.com as a Senior Sub-editor. He keenly observes politics. You can follow him on Twitter –twitter.com/saurabhkverma19
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