Congress Leader Shakeel Ahmad Criticises Owaisi, Says People Have ‘Seen Through’ Him

Congress Legislative Party leader in Bihar Shakeel Ahmad Khan on Tuesday accused AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi with "wittingly or unwittingly" helping the BJP in the Hindi heartland. He claimed that the people have “seen through” the Hyderabad MP. 

He made the remarks while polling was underway in his Kadwa Assembly constituency, PTI reported. 

"I feel the political approach of Owaisi is basically flawed. India is a pluralist society, and the Mahagathbandhan is committed to ensuring that the same is reflected in politics. But what has Owaisi been doing? He is seen as a 'vote katwa' (spoiler)," he said.

He was responding to queries about what impact he saw of the Owaisi factor this time, taking into consideration the fact that in 2020 the AIMIM had won five seats, all at the expense of Mahagathbandhan, and also affected prospects of the RJD, Congress and Left combine in a number of other constituencies.

Khan said, "I wonder whether it should be called surprising or a too clever by half strategy on the part of Owaisi, who never contests all the seats in his own home state of Telangana but likes to field his candidates in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. What did he achieve in UP in the last assembly polls? He only helped Yogi Adityanath retain power. People have seen through all this." Asked about the blast in Delhi a day ago, which has left several persons killed, the Congress leader said, "I strongly condemn the incident. It is the responsibility of Amit Shah, as the Union home minister, to ensure that such incidents do not occur in the first place. Now that we have a tragedy at hand, the strongest possible action must be taken against the culprits." Khan said he does not wish to indulge in divisive politics, pitting one community against another.

"But justice must be done in all cases. Be it a blast or killings on board a running train. But please do not think I am equating the two incidents," he said.

Speaking about the assembly elections in Bihar, he said that "Evidently, people are excited and want to vote for a change, which explains the high turnout. We will be forming the next government." He, however, ducked a query as to whether he would like to become the deputy CM if his party insisted that a Muslim be chosen for the post.

"That is a decision for the party to take. Our top leadership has done a lot to build the tempo in the Bihar elections. Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra campaigned extensively," said Khan.

He, however, expressed alarm over the recovery, last week, of VVPAT slips from outside a polling booth in Samastipur district.

"The Election Commission has been compromised. It has ceased to be an impartial body. Mismanagement is all around. In my own constituency, elderly people are complaining that there are no proper lighting arrangements near EVMs. We have heard about non-functional CCTV cameras at many places. In some places, voting could not commence till as late as 9 am," he alleged.

With PTI inputs