AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi on Wednesday said that delimitation of parliamentary constituencies on the basis of population will lead to huge social movement as this will bring down the number of Lok Sabha seats in those states which are performing well in controlling population.
He agreed with Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) Working President K.T. Rama Rao that delimitation on population basis will do a gross injustice to the southern states which have been controlling the population in line with the policies of the Central government.
“It’s is a big cause of concern, a friction point that will lead to huge social movement. People will come out on the streets,” Owaisi told reporters.
He said that the concern on this issue was voiced for the last five years. “You can’t penalise states for controlling population. How can you penalise states whose TFR (total fertility rate) has come down and which is lower than national TFR,” he asked.
He wondered how in a federal system, states controlling population can be punished by bringing down their parliamentary seats thereby limiting their influence in government formation at the Centre.
“If we have to go forward we have to find a way where states do not lose their parliament seats just because they controlled the population,” said the Hyderabad MP.
Owaisi demanded that the BJP and Sangh Parivar to spell out their stand on the issue. “They voice concern about the growing population. Now they should come forward and say what is their stand on this,” he said.
On Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s statement in the US that what is happening to Muslims in India today happened to Dalits in 1980s, Owaisi reminded him that it was during Congress rule in 1980s that worst anti-Muslim riots happened.
“Under whose rule Hashimpur, Maliana, and Moradabad massacres happened?” he asked. The MP also reminded Rahul Gandhi that it was also in the 1980s that Sikhs were killed.
Referring to recent incidents, Owaisi said it was in Congress-ruled Rajasthan that Junaid and Nasir were killed and it was in Congress-ruled Chhattisgarh that Dharam Sansad was held where Mahatma Gandhi was abused.
Owaisi also reminded Gandhi that Congress supported the BJP for passing UAPA Act in July 2019. “Today it’s Muslims and those who speak against the government are jailed under the UAPA,” he said.
He lashed out at Congress leader and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath for announcing that Hindu religious festivals will be held across the state in the runup to the elections.
“A competition is going on to show who is the biggest Hindu. They are all trying to prove themselves as biggest Hindus,” Owaisi remarked.
Stating that he was against political secularism, the Hyderabad MP said this has destroyed Muslims and brought down their representation in Parliament and assemblies.
The AIMIM chief ruled out support to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over an ordinance brought by the Centre to nullify the Supreme Court order which granted control of services in the national capital to the Delhi government.
“Why did you support Modi when he brought the bill to repeal Article 370 which divided a state into Union Territories. You wanted to prove yourself a bigger Hindu than Modi,” Owaisi told Kejriwal.
He also made it clear that he will never support Kejriwal. “He is not for soft Hindutva. He is the one who follows real Hindutva,” he said.
