Owaisi claims Uddhav, Pawar didn't support Muslim community members in their time of need
Thane (PTI): All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaddudin Owaisi has asked the Muslim youth to become a strong force in the country to fight for their rights and targeted leaders like Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar, claiming they did not support the community members in their time of need.
Owaisi was addressing a rally in Mumbra area of Maharashtra's Thane district on Saturday during his party's national convention.
"If Ajit Pawar, Supriya Sule, Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray, Eknath Shinde and Devendra Fadnavis can become leaders, why can't you?" he asked the Muslim community youth.
The AIMIM was formed 65 years back and just a handful of people used to attend its meetings, but the number has now gone up to thousands, he said.
"We also have the presence in Parliament, state Assemblies and local bodies and this growth should continue unabated and the youth should try to get into the administration as well through election," he said.
He asked the youth to come forward, make the AIMIM strong and fight for the rights of Muslims and Dalits.
Owaisi targeted Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackerary and sought to know why he kept silent when "our community members faced harassment".
He further said Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar wants to defeat Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and wants support from the AIMIM.
"But he forgets that when it comes to supporting Muslims at the time of their crisis, he never bothered to come forward and left us to our fate. What kind of secularism is this?" he asked.
He also hit out at the Congress, saying its leaders had time for the Bharat Jodo Yatra and other activities, but did not turn up to console the families of those killed in mob lynching and other incidents.
Owaisi said his party will put up "sher" (strong) candidates against those who claim to be holding on to their bastions.
"You cannot purchase everyone with money power, we still have some people who are loyal to us and with them we will defeat you," he said without naming anyone.The AIMIM leader said he cannot be bought with money power.
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Chadha, others wouldn't have left AAP had it followed 'right' path: Anna Hazare
Mumbai (PTI): Social activist Anna Hazare has said Raghav Chadha and six other Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha members would not have quit the party had it followed the "right" path.
"Everyone has the right to hold an opinion in a democracy. They (Chadha and others) must have faced some trouble, which is why they left," Hazare told reporters on Friday in Ahilyanagar district of Maharashtra.
AAP Rajya Sabha members Raghav Chadha and Sandeep Pathak addressed a joint press conference in Delhi on Friday, announcing their exit from the Arvind Kejriwal-led party to join the BJP.
Chadha claimed that nearly two-thirds of AAP's Rajya Sabha members had quit the party and would function as a separate faction.
"It is their (AAP leadership’s) fault. Had that party followed the right way, they would not have left," Hazare said.
Hazare reiterated that Chadha and others must have faced difficulties within AAP, and that is why they left. "Had the party gone in the right direction, they would not have quit the party," he added.
"There must be some or the other reason (for their leaving AAP). In a democracy, every person has a view about where to stay and leave," Hazare said.
The Chadha-led exodus marks a significant setback for the Kejriwal-led party since its formation in 2012, which followed the momentum of Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption movement.
