All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Wednesday said that Akhtarul Iman had written a letter to Bihar’s LoP Tejashwi Yadav proposing an alliance for the upcoming polls. Owaisi added that AIMIM is ready to contest six seats.
Speaking to reporters in Kishanganj, Asaduddin Owaisi said, “Akhtarul Iman has written a letter to the LoP here (Tejashwi Yadav) and we have said through the media that AIMIM is ready for alliance. Akhtarul Iman has also written that they can give us six seats. It is not up to them to decide. If they do not do this, people of Bihar will see who wants to make the BJP succeed and who wants to stop them. So, the decision is up to the people of Bihar. We have shouldered our responsibility.”
Bihar is set to witness an electoral battle between the incumbent National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by Nitish Kumar in the state, while the INDIA bloc, including Congress and RJD, are looking to unseat Kumar.
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Regarding the ‘I Love Muhammad’ row, Owaisi said that the ADGP barred new posters, but he stressed that Article 25 of the Constitution protects the right to freedom of religion, and such rights cannot be taken away.
“This started in Kanpur. Perhaps the ADGP said that no new poster can be pasted. We then said on social media that we love Muhammad, every Muslim loves Muhammad. If we are Muslims and know Muhammad, he has taught that only Allah is to be offered ‘ibadat’ [worship] and loved. So, this is a part of our faith. Article 25 speaks of Right to Freedom of Religion. The Constitution provides us with fundamental rights. How can you snatch it away? It is wrong,” Owaisi said.
The controversy reportedly started on 4 September in Rawatpur, Kanpur, during the Barawafat (Eid-e-Milad-un-Nabi) procession, when a group displayed a banner reading ‘I Love Muhammad’ along the procession route, leading to objections from a Hindu group.
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