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Asaduddin Owaisi,
a British-trained barrister, is the public face of the
Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen. The son of party president Salahuddin
Owaisi, he was elected to the Lok Sabha from Hyderabad, a
Muslim-dominated constituency and MIM citadel. Owaisi, 35, has
announced his support to the United Progressive Alliance government
during the trust vote in the Lok Sabha. A decision that has surprised
many, given the impression that Muslims are opposed to the India-US
nuclear deal. Mohammad Siddique asked the young MP why he decided to support the UPA:
Why has the MIM decided to support the UPA government?
For us the deal is not the immediate concern. Our top priority is to stop the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party)
and L K Advani from coming to power as they pose an immediate threat to
the secular polity of the country and to the life, identity and
development of Muslims.
While
voting tomorrow my immediate concern will be how to stop L K Advani
from becoming the prime minister of this great nation as he is an
accused in the Babri Masjid demolition criminal case. On the nuclear
deal we have already conveyed our reservations and concerns to Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi.
How do you explain your decision to your support base when it is being said that Muslims are against the deal with the US?
First,
there is no basis for saying that Indian Muslims are against this deal.
It is an international agreement and by trying to give a communal
colour some parties are indulging in cynical manipulation of Muslims
for their own political ambitions and desires.
M
K Padhe of the CPI-M and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati are
telling the people that Muslims are against it. I would like to
question the CPI-M and Mayawati why don't you say that Hindus are for
the deal, that Dalits are against it and whether the backwards were for
or against the deal.
Why
do you have to put a gun on my shoulder and fire? Why do you have to
put me in the spot? The MIM believes this is a canard being spread that
will lead to more hatred towards the Muslims. This will give a handle
to the Sangh Parviar and help them in the electoral process.
We will tell the people we are trying to stop Advani and the BJP by voting in support of the UPA.
But what is your stand on the deal?
We
have strong reservations about it and we believe it will have an impact
on the foreign policy of the country. We also strongly condemn what the
United States is doing in Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine. We are also
concerned about the US's design on Iran. We have discussed all this
with the prime minister.
He
told me to quote him on this. He had told the US that the attack on
Iraq was a monumental mistake and it will be unworthy of him as prime
minister of this country if he compromises on foreign policy. He also
assured me that India will press ahead with the Iran gas pipeline
project. Whether or not the deal will impact foreign policy will become
clearer when a testing time comes.
The
prime minister has also told the US that military action against Iran
is not a solution. He has also drawn the attention of the US to the
fact that India has 5 million of its people in the Gulf who will be
affected by any war in the region.
On
the nuclear deal the crux of the issue is that we require power. There
is no dispute as far as that is concerned. The biggest example I can
give which all of us are facing is that we are suffering three hours of
power cuts in Hyderabad, the state capital. It is five, six hours in
the districts.
But for us the question is who the biggest evil is. For us it is L K Advani first, second is Prakash Karat and then comes (US President George W) Bush.
Why Karat?
History
will never forgive the CPI-M and Prakash Karat for creating this
political crisis in the country, which will only benefit the forces of
Hindutva and weaken secularism. To me, the BJP and CPI-M are the two
sides of the same coin.
I would like to ask the CPI-M if their love for Muslims is so much why did you kill Muslims in Nandigram?
How is it that in your 33 years of rule in West Bengal where 28%
Muslims reside, their share in government employment is only 2.8%.
This
love for Muslims is not shown over there but when it comes to further
their own political ambitions to hide their ideologies they make
Muslims the Bali Ka Bakra (scapegoats).
Mayawati is also making similar noises linking the opposition to the deal to the Muslims.
If
she was genuinely concerned about Muslim, why did her government and
the Samajwadi Party government since 2001 not comply with the court
order to club the two cases of the Babri Masjid demolition. If that was
done, the case against Advani would have become much stronger.
There is a strong case against Advani, Uma Bharti and the entire top brass of the Sangh Parivar.
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Hyderabad is waking up to expensive housing and how. Villas priced anywhere between Rs 2 and Rs 12 crore are coming up in the city and, hold your breath, selling too.