Dr Ahmed Mohiuddin Siddiqui for BeyondHeadlines
The All India Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi, an MP, has demanded the formation of Regional Development Council for Seemanchal under Article 371 of the Indian Constitution. He made this demand on Monday while campaigning for his party candidate Akhtarul Iman in the Kishangunj Lok Sabha constituency. He asserted that justice cannot be done to the Seemanchal region until the council was formed. He also wanted the establishment of a central university in the name of late leader Taslimuddin who represented the region in the Lok Sabha. He assured assistance for the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) campus in Bihar, which was on the verge of closure.
Asaduddin Owaisi pointed out the woes of farmers due to floods. He asked for construction of small and big bridges to connect villages and towns in the backward Seemanchal region. He promised opening of schools and colleges if his party was elected from Kishangunj. He sought an emphatic win for Akhtarul Iman with a thumping majority. He addressed public meetings at Amoor’s Bada Eidgah and Daakorhaat in Kishangunj. He expressed hope that he would register a win from Hyderabad again and fervently hoped for similar victories for Majlis candidates Akhtarul Iman in Bihar and Imtiaz Jaleel in Maharashtra.
The Majlis supremo likened Akhtarul Iman to be a suitable replacement for towering leaders like Taslimuddin and Maulana Asrarul Haque. He dubbed Akhtar as a fearless leader. Giving his perspective about the results, Owaisi predicted that 16 MPs of Telangana Rashtriya Samithi will be elected in Telangana, about 20 MPs of YSR Congress in Andhra Pradesh and about 40 MPs from Prakash Ambedkar’s Bahujan Vanchit Aghadi in Maharashtra and they all will be able to stop Narendra Modi from becoming the Prime Minister again.
Asaduddin Owaisi recalled that no other leader has raised a voice in Lok Sabha about the backwardness of Seemanchal. He reminded the audience that Majlis had presented a private member’s bill about Seemanchal in the Lok Sabha. He pointed out that development of Seemanchal is necessary for security reasons as it borders Bangladesh and Nepal. He lamented at the lack of educational and health facilities in the region. He lambasted Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for not taking any action against East Champaran police for allegedly torturing to death two people- Parvez and Ghufran in whose heels nails were allegedly hit. He cautioned that the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS) is implementing its plans in Bihar and inciting hatred in the hearts of innocent people.
Talking about reservations, Owaisi opined that for reservations to continue, Akhtarul Iman should be elected from Kishangunj. He lured the JD(U) – BJP candidate Sayed Mahmood Ashraf to leave the JD (U) as Nitish government is making women as widows and children as orphans. He promised Mahmood that Majlis will give him a suitable position that he deserves. He criticized the Congress candidate Dr Mohammed Javed for calling Majlis a communal party.
Majlis leaders Dr. Tara Sita Arya, Ghulam Sarwar, Shahbaz, Maulana Manzar Mohsin, former Hyderabad Mayor Majid Hussain, Bahujan Kranti party leader Alok Yadav, Maharashtra Majlis legislator Waris Pathan and Kishangunj Majlis candidate Akhtarul Iman also spoke.
The fate of the candidates will be sealed on 18 April in the second phase of the polls. Hopefully, Kishangunj gets a powerful voice to roar in the Lok Sabha for the Seemanchal region and put it on the road to development.
(Dr. Ahmed Mohiuddin Siddiqui is a senior journalist and a political analyst.)
