The mammoth AIMIM roadshow vows to get Shifa-ur Rahman out of jail
Waquar Hasan | Clarion India
NEW DELHI – In a massive show of strength for the All India Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) candidate in Delhi’s Okhla constituency, the party supremo and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday led a gigantic two-km long roadshow in the predominantly Muslim area dotted with byzantine lanes and bylanes. Owaisi was accompanied by Shifa-ur Rahman, the party candidate who is out of Tihar Jail on conditional parole, and several of his supporters. The huge crowd at the event raised slogans praising Shifa-ur Rahman and vowing to get him out of prison where he has been languishing for about five years for his alleged role in the 2020 Delhi riots.
Owaisi and Shifa-ur Rahman greeted the long queue of bystanders, and shook hands with them urging them to press the ‘kite’ button (AIMIM poll symbol) on February 5 election day. As Owaisi’s convoy passed through the lanes of Zakir Nagar and Batla House, he remained silent. He spoke only once urging the people to support the oppressed and the marginalised.
Monday was the last day of campaigning for the elections.
Shifa-ur Rahman will have to go back to prison later tonight at the end of the five-day conditional parole granted to him.
Talking to Clarion India briefly during the roadshow, Shifa-ur Rahman said “Today evening, I will go back to jail. Therefore, I appeal to everyone to press the kite button on the EVM which comes on 11th number”.
Addressing a rally, the AIMIM candidate who is a former president of Jamia Millia Islamia University students’ union described his election contest as a fight for the future of India’s politics.
“This is a fight for the future of India. This is a fight for our leadership. If I win today from this constituency, there will be a change in the politics of India,” he said.
Shifa-ur Rahman’s wife, who was in another car during the roadshow along with activist Safoora Zargar, thanked Almighty God. She said she was indebted to the thousands of Shifa-ur Rahman’s supporters for turning up in huge numbers at the rally.
“I thank Allah a lot. I’m thankful to all our supporters. The result will be what Allah wants. I’m very happy seeing all the people here and getting encouragement. In sha Allah, all will cast their votes for Shifa-ur Rahman,” she told Clarion India.
Safoora Zargar is a student activist leader from Kishtwar, Jammu and Kashmir, best known for her role in the Citizenship Amendment Act protests. Zargar was an MPhil student of Jamia Millia Islamia and media coordinator of the Jamia Coordination Committee.
Shoaib Jamai, state president of AIMIM, was also very happy seeing the huge turnout at the rally. He took a dig at the Muslim candidates of secular parties calling them “dealers”.
“Okhla has now decided that they will cast their votes for Shifa-ur Rahman in a one-sided manner. The time has come for those dealers to end their dealerships. From now on, there will be Shifa-ur Rahman in the entire Okhla,” said Jamai.
The roadshow witnessed the presence of supporters not only from Delhi but also from other states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
Shoaib, a differently abled person who uses crutches to walk, came all the way from Meerut in Uttar Pradesh two days ago to listen to Owaisi. He likes the way the AIMIM chief delivers passionate speeches and uses Urdu poetry. “No political leader delivers speeches the way he does. (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi makes useless remarks,” he said.
He also likes that Owaisi raises the issues of Muslims in his speeches.
Mohammed Adil, a car mechanic, closed his workshop early to participate in the roadshow. He feels Shifa-ur Rahman is an honest candidate and has wrongly been implicated in violence cases.
“I’m not associated with any party. Injustice was committed against Shifa Bhai. We are with him. There is anger among people against his incarceration. Shifa Bhai deserves our votes,” said Adil.
He hopes that Shifa-ur Rahman will get bail soon and will come out of jail. For Shoaib, water and electricity are not only issues but self-respect is also a big issue for the people of Okhla.
The call to bring Shifa-ur Rahman out of jail echoes among the common people in the constituency. Javed, a voter in Batla House area who works as a driver, said he will vote for the kite as he wants to get the party candidates out of jail. He recalled the great contribution of Shifa-ur Rahman to galvanise the anti-CAA protests.
On the other hand, an elderly Muslim man showed his concern that Muslim votes will get divided in the constituency between AAP’s Amanatullah, Congress’ Areeba Khan and the AIMIM.
