In a recent statement, AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi raised questions about the BJP’s commitment to the Backward Classes (BC) in India. His comments come in response to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s announcement during a rally in Suryapet that the BJP would make a BC leader the Chief Minister of Telangana if the party is voted to power in the upcoming assembly polls.
Speaking at a public meeting in Zaheerabad, Owaisi referred to the BJP and Congress as “twins” and expressed his belief that both parties will not be successful in the Telangana assembly polls. He called out Amit Shah, asking why the BJP doesn’t conduct a “Backward Classes caste census” if it is genuinely sympathetic towards the BC community.
Owaisi also criticized both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for not supporting his demand for a sub-quota for Other Backward Classes (OBC) and Muslim women in the women’s reservation bill passed in Parliament.
In his speech, Owaisi mentioned the recent return of former MLA Komatireddy Raj Gopal Reddy to Congress after quitting the BJP. He raised questions about whether Congress has become a “washing machine,” alluding to the frequent political shifts of some leaders.
Responding to Rahul Gandhi’s comments about a supposed tacit understanding between AIMIM and the BJP, Owaisi pointed out that the Congress lost in Amethi Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh in the 2019 elections, where AIMIM had no role to play. He asked how the Congress lost in a direct contest with the BJP in 185 seats in 2019, emphasizing that AIMIM wasn’t a factor there.
Owaisi reiterated his appeal for people to support ‘mamu,’ referring to Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, in areas where AIMIM is not contesting in the upcoming polls. He stressed that regional parties would prioritize the concerns of the people wherever they are in power and cautioned that if national parties like the BJP and Congress came to power, addressing people’s issues might become challenging.
