Asaduddin Owaisi condemned the BJP’s announcement that the Gujarat government will form a committee for implementation of UCC terming it as a step towards furthering its “Hindutva agenda”
Clarion India
NEW DELHI — The AIMIM chief and Member of Parliament Asaduddin Owaisi, who is on a two-day visit to Gujarat, blamed Congress on Sunday for BJP being in power in Gujarat since the last nearly three decades.
Addressing an election rally while appealing people for votes on behalf of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) at Vadgam, Banaskantha Owaisi also took on the BJP’s announcement that the Gujarat government will form a committee for implementation of UCC, terming BJP’s announcement as a step towards furthering its “Hindutva agenda,” according to media reports.
Indian Express quoted Owaisi saying, “Today morning I got to know that the Gujarat government has decided to approve a committee for implementing UCC. I want to ask the country’s Prime Minister, why are you lying to the public of Gujarat. Your government in a matter seeking implementation of the UCC before the Supreme Court told the court that implementing UCC is under the central government’s mandate and cannot be made by the state…This is what Modi’s government told the Supreme Court and now because of the upcoming Vidhan Sabha elections, this announcement was made by the state.
“Secondly I want to ask BJP that is it not true that Babasaheb Ambedkar said that UCC should be voluntary, not mandatory?…There are several laws such as Juvenile Justice Act, Special Marriage Act, Indian Succession Act which do not follow religious laws but BJP only wants to move forward with its Hindutva agenda, and it has been BJP’s modus operandi before elections to always raise such issues so that vote bank politics can be played… Article 29 (protection of interests of minorities) is a fundamental right. Can UCC be contrary to Article 29? BJP says, ‘ no no, we want to give women their rights’.
“Two days ago, Aurangabad bench of Bombay High Court ruled that it is not cruelty if a woman is asked to do housework by her in-laws….BJP wont’t say anything on this but in the guise of UCC, they fully intend to defame Islam and Muslims. I want to ask the country’s PM that the income tax benefit received under Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) (accounts), why don’t Muslims get the same? Why not Christians? Is this not against the Constitution’s right to equality?…
“In 2015 and 2016, 3,064 crore income tax was paid for HUF (against a total HUF income of Rs 38,615 crore, that is only about 8 percent of the income from HUFs taxed). You talk about UCC but on the other hand, under Section 21 A of the Special Marriage Act, Muslims have been excluded from making use of the Act…. 84 per cent of child marriages in India, are they of Muslims? Who are they? BJP won’t tell you. BJP also won’t tell you that from 2000 to 2019, 90 lakh have been killed by female infanticide. How many were Muslims in that?…
“I want to ask the BJP that if they want a uniform law then why don’t you remove Disturbed Areas Act?…You can’t even bring uniformity to justice. Those flogged in Kheda, don’t those Muslims have respect? If they committed a crime then what are police, courts, jails, IPC and CrPC for? But instead you brought them before the public, flogged them, and made tamasha of.”
Seeking votes for the party, AIMIM chief took a dig at Vadgam MLA Jignesh Mevani and said, “Last time you elected janab Jignesh as an independent candidate. You had not voted for Congress but for an independent contestant. If you had to vote for Congress then janab Jignesh would not have won. But he took your votes, you sacrificed and after winning, he abandoned Vadgam’s public and went to Congress. It is my request that you make AIMIM’s candidate win….If our candidate wins from here, then I guarantee you that the responsibility of this constituency will be under Asaduddin Owaisi.”
“You gave them (Congress) votes in the hopes that they’ll be able to stop them (BJP) but 30 years is a long time. Those you trusted for 30 years, they not only have broken your trust but has stabbed you in the back. You see that Congress has no power anymore, be it in Gujarat or all India, that they would be able to stop BJP and other fascist forces. In 30 years they could not stop them and today when AIMIM is participating in the elections they are making false allegations against us,“ Indian Express quoted Owaisi in the report.
Taking up the case of Bilkis Bano, Owaisi condemned the silence of political parties including Aam Aadmi Paty (AAP) on the early release of 11 men, convicted of gangraping Bilkis Bano and brutal murder of her family members, by the Gujarat government.
AIMIM chief, according to the report said, “You may not like this but in India’s politics today, there is no significance of India’s Muslims. There is no value for your vote, because those who call themselves secular are equivalent to BJP. These parties know that they do not need to appeal for votes, Muslims will vote for them out of fear of BJP/RSS…Bilkis Bano’s issue came but every fell silent, they became dumb…When an AAP leader (Delhi deputy CM Manish Sisodia) was asked for his comments on Bilkis Bano by a mediaperson, he said, ‘not Bilkis Bano, we will talk about schools and classrooms’. IS Bilkis Bano a Muslim issue? It is India’s issue, an issue of justice, an issue of women….”
