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Owaisi enters Dumri assembly by poll campaign, slams Jharkhand government
Addressing his inaugural rally in Dumri, where he was seeking support for his party’s candidate, Md Abdul Mobin Rizvi, for the upcoming by-election, Owaisi emphasised the need for a third front in the country, maintaining equal distance from both the Congress and the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi criticised the Hemant Soren government and its ruling alliance partners on Wednesday for labelling his party as a “B-team of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)”.
He also questioned the state government regarding the recent cases of violence against the minority community and the alleged insufficient spending on minority development.
Addressing his inaugural rally in Dumri, where he was seeking support for his party’s candidate, Md Abdul Mobin Rizvi, for the upcoming by-election, Owaisi emphasised the need for a third front in the country, maintaining equal distance from both the Congress and the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
“Chief minister Hemant Soren claims that mob lynching has been stopped in the state under his regime. Then what would he say about the murder of Shamshad Ansari in Ramgarh? What happened to the two boys who were shot dead by his police in Ranchi? How come the shops of Muslims were burnt down in Jamshedpur? His minister, Hafizul Saheb, is roaming around in the constituency. He won’t dare speak about these incidents. But since I raise these issues, they would say I am B team of the BJP,” said Owaisi.
Encouraging the predominantly Muslim audience to vote for the AIMIM candidate, Owaisi underscored that the minority community’s concerns would remain unheard until they have a representative from his party in the constituency.
While the Dumri assembly by-election witnesses a direct contest between Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)’s Bebi Devi and AJSU Party’s Yashoda Devi, Rizvi is striving to make it a three-way competition.
Rizvi secured around 24,000 votes in the 2019 assembly election, securing the fourth position behind JMM, AJSU, and BJP candidates. The BJP is backing AJSU in the by-poll.
Owaisi further questioned the government’s development efforts for the minority communities in the state.
“I come from Telangana, where the Muslim population is under five million. Despite having seven Muslim MLAs in the assembly, we lack a minister. However, our state has a dedicated department for minority development with an annual budget of ₹2,200 crore. In contrast, Jharkhand, with a larger Muslim population of six million, has four MLAs and two ministers, yet their annual budget is a mere ₹500 crore. Additionally, the Centre allocated ₹155 crore under a welfare scheme, of which only ₹5 crore has been utilised,” Owaisi stated.
The AIMIM leader also slammed the Narendra Modi-led Union government, dismissing its claim of “Sabka Saath Sabka Vishwas” (Together with All, Trust of All) as “a mere facade”.
Owaisi also challenged the Centre’s intention to implement a uniform civil code nationwide.
“I challenge the Modi government on the uniform civil code. States like Jharkhand have substantial tribal populations protected by special tenancy Acts. How will this be addressed? I remind them that India’s strength lies in its diversity, with numerous social groups governed by distinct personal laws. A bureaucrat in Delhi cannot dictate our personal laws,” Owaisi said.
Meanwhile, responding to Owaisi’s rally, JMM spokesperson Manoj Pandey said that Jharkhand people do not endorse radical elements.
“They also contested in 2019, yielding no significant outcome. The people of Jharkhand recognise their true well-wishers. Radical elements, whether AIMIM or the BJP, are no longer acceptable in Jharkhand’s politics,” he said.
