Prakash Ambedkar-Asaduddin Owaisi to join hands for 2019 elections
Aurangabad (Maharashtra), Sep 15: Marking a new dimension in Maharashtra politics, the Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh (BBM) and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) will jointly fight the upcoming Lok Sabha and state Assembly elections, an official said here on Saturday.
The BBM is led by Prakash Ambedkar while the Hyderabad-based AIMIM is headed by Asaduddin Owaisi, which has made inroads in the Maharashtra Assembly and several civic bodies in the state.
The BBM-AIMIM alliance will be sealed and announced in a public rally to be addressed by the two leaders in Aurangabad on October 2, an AIMIM spokesperson said.
Imtiaz Jaleel, the AIMIM legislator from the city, said here that the new alliance will fight for the rights of the Dalits, Muslims and Other Backward Classes who remain ignored since the past 70 years.
"They have no proper representation in politics, are merely treated as vote-banks during elections. It's a matter of shame for all the secular parties in the state that there is not a single Muslim person elected to the Lok Sabha from Maharashtra," Jaleel pointed out.
He said now there is a huge awareness among Dalits, Muslims and OBCs who don't want to be treated as vote-banks anymore, but want a share in power.
"Owaisi has already requested Ambedkar to take over the leadership of this section of the population, since he's raising all the issues concerning these communities, fight the forces which are threatening to 'burn' the Constitution. This will become a major political force in the state," Jaleel added.
Earlier, Jaleel had held a preparatory discussion with Ambedkar in Pune and now the final shape of the alliance, the elections they will unitedly contest, the seat-sharing formula, etc, shall be declared next month.
Since the Koregaon-Bhima caste riots on January 1 and its political fallout, Ambedkar and the BBM have assumed a leading role in forging unity among the Dalits, and now extending to OBCs and Muslims, making it a potentially formidable force to reckon with in the next elections.
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Security tightened at Odisha's Paradip port after arrival of ship with 21 Pakistani crew members
Paradip (PTI): The Odisha Police on Wednesday beefed up security at port town Paradip after the arrival of a ship with 21 Pakistani crew members on board, officials said.
The ‘MT Siren II’ with a total of 25 crew members reached Paradip port early on Wednesday from South Korea via Singapore, carrying crude oil for Indian Oil Corporation Ltd, they said.
Security arrangements have been tightened by Odisha Marine Police and the CISF after receiving information about the crew members from the Immigration Department, said Marine Police Station inspector in-charge Babita Dehuri.
The Paradip port had been put on high alert in the wake of the military conflict between India and Pakistan.
The ship is anchored at ‘PM berth’, located around 20 km from the shore, and has 11,350 metric tonnes of crude on board, the officials said.
“Orders have also been issued that no crew will be allowed to leave the ship during evacuation of the crude oil,” the police officer said.
