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In the sweltering heat, Hyderabad parliamentarian Asaduddin Owaisi briskly walks across neighbourhoods as part of his door-to-door campaign in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections. With the young and the old, and men and women welcoming and even following him, his popularity is palpable. During a short break, he speaks exclusively with The Hindu's Syed Mohammed about the campaign, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's controversial comments directed at Muslims, China, the presence of AIMIM in Bihar and Maharashtra, and his take on BJP's '400-paar' slogan. Excerpts from an interview:
PM Modi's recent remarks, such as 'ghuspethiyon' and 'those who have many children', have created a controversy. Your comments?
The only guarantee under Modi is sowing of hatred and spewing venom against Muslims. He has been doing this consistently since 2002. He is not speaking as the Prime Minister of this great nation, but as a small-time leader who does not believe in inclusivity, diversity, and pluralism of this great country. His slogan of 'sab ka saath, sab ka vikas' has always been fake.
What do you make of the Election Commission of India's reaction to these comments?
Well, it is embarrassing, isn't it? He has embarrassed the whole country by such venomous statements. He has embarrassed all Constitutional bodies. It is also an embarrassment for the whole country at an international level because a Prime Minister who spoke of getting us a permanent seat in the [United Nations] Security Council is now competing with China when it comes to authoritarianism. He has embarrassed not just India but also the western countries, which wanted India to play an important role against Chinese expansion.
BJP's Hyderabad Lok Sabha candidate Kompella Madhavi Latha has been commenting on subjects connected to Islamic jurisprudence such as fatwas and hijab, will you be moving the ECI against them?
When the Prime Minister has laid down a roadmap for spewing venom, and creating hatred in the country so how can any BJP leader not follow their leader? They will have to show that they are more loyal than the king. This is nothing but dog whistle politics. It is the ECI's own guidelines which are being violated so why should we go and complain whenever such nonsensical statements are uttered? You have so many observers, video cameras following you and me. Basically, the country is run by the ECI till the elections are held. So, when everything is monitored, it [comments and remarks] should be taken note of. The PM is also a citizen of the country. The land's laws apply to him as well.
While you have not entered into a formal alliance with Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, you've expressed support for Prakash Ambedkar from Akola. How are alliances likely to play out with AIMIM in other parts of the country?
We said that the people of Akola should support Prakash Ambedkar. At a seat where Anand Ambedkar is contesting, Imtiyaz Jaleel held a public meeting in his support. In Telangana, we are fighting elections independently. We have not entered into an alliance with any political party. We have formed the PDM [signifying picchda (backwards), Dalits and Muslims] alliance with Pallavi Patel [from Apna Dal] in Uttar Pradesh. After May 13, I will go there and campaign for the candidates of PDM. We will be contesting a few seats in Bihar. We will also be contesting a few seats in Maharashtra because in October, Assembly elections will be held in that State. As far as Aurangabad parliamentary constituency is concerned, Imtiyaz Jaleel is getting enormous support from each and every section of society because in the last five years, his performance was exceptional. He took everyone along with him, he spoke for everyone, and tried to meet everyone. He stood up and asked for reservations for Marathas, dhangars, and asked for the Mahmood-ur-Rahman Committee Report to be implemented. Every section of the downtrodden people is supportive of him.
You have not been as critical of the Congress as you were in the recent Assembly elections in Telangana.
The media should come up with a barometer to measure severe and non-severe criticism. They [Congress] have fielded a candidate against me and are fighting the election. As far as our party is concerned, we did not field a candidate in the previous parliamentary elections.
Does the BJP's '400-paar' slogan still hold relevance?
Petrol is ₹100-paar. Inflation has hit every household badly. I request you to do a survey — you need not be a data cruncher — go to any school and ask how many students are yet to pay the annual fees. You will be shocked by the number. They don't have money to pay. This is the state of affairs. There are job losses in the IT sector running into thousands. Can't the BJP see this?
The AIMIM has released, perhaps for the first time, a song in Telugu . . .
Singer Nalgonda Gaddar has a great voice and the song speaks about our work, and all the lies that are spread against us and the AIMIM party. You have seen the system and the way we sit in Darussalaam. The MLAs who sit there work like receptionists, as they interact directly with the public who come there.