Owaisi cites Bihar experience as AIMIM keeps alliance door open in UP

NEW DELHI: AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Thursday said his party was open to forming an electoral alliance with other political parties in Uttar Pradesh ahead of next year’s Assembly elections, saying it did not want the BJP to return to power in the state for a third consecutive term.Addressing a press conference, Owaisi said AIMIM would contest the elections “with all our force” and would announce any alliance once it was finalised.“We don’t want the BJP to come to power in Uttar Pradesh for the third time. In order to stop this from happening, we are open for alliance. What else can we say?” Owaisi said, according to new agency PTI.He referred to AIMIM’s experience in Bihar, where four of the party’s five MLAs joined the RJD in June 2022. The move enabled the RJD to reclaim its position as the single largest party in the Bihar Assembly.Owaisi said AIMIM had sought only six seats in Bihar previously and alleged that its concerns had not received the same political attention as similar developments involving other parties.“We fought again and people voted for us. We bagged five seats there,” he said.“It is up to them (political parties in UP) now. We will contest the elections there with all our force, and whenever an alliance happens, we will let you know. We will decide our fate and make our leadership,” Owaisi added.The Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections are scheduled to be held early next year to elect all 403 members of the House.

Owaisi questions opposition’s claims over elections

Owaisi also criticised political parties that have attributed electoral defeats both to AIMIM’s presence in contests and to alleged vote theft.“The opposition once said that they lost the elections because we (AIMIM) were in the fray. Sometimes, they say that they lost the elections because of vote theft. How is this possible? They should be clear,” he said.

Owaisi alleges UCC aims to impose Hindu laws

Owaisi also criticised the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in some states and alleged that the move was aimed at turning India into a “Hindu Rashtra”.He claimed that the UCC laws in Uttarakhand, Assam and Gujarat were a “cut and paste” of the Hindu Marriage Act and Hindu Succession Act, and questioned their applicability to Muslims.“The Maharashtra government is working on UCC now. But the laws in Uttarakhand, Assam and Gujarat are the same. It is just a ‘cut and paste’ of Hindu Marriage Act and Hindu Succession Act,” Owaisi said.He said tribals had been excluded from the UCC in Uttarakhand and Gujarat because of differences in their religious and social practices, and argued that Muslims faced a similar issue.

“When marriage in Islam is a contract and it is a bond for life time, how can Hindu Marriage Act be imposed on me? Why should I marry according to it?” he asked.Owaisi further alleged that UCC provisions could affect inheritance arrangements and said the move violated Articles 25, 26 and 29 of the Constitution.“BJP leaders say that women should get equal share (in property). In Assam, Uttarakhand and Gujarat where UCC was implemented, the power of will helps a person give away (the property) to just one son when he has three. UCC is an effort to implement the laws of Hindus over Muslims. This is a violation of Article 25, 26 and 29 (of the Indian Constitution). It is a way to make India a Hindu Rashtra,” he said.