Owaisi calls to vote out BJP, allies over Waqf board in Maharashtra polls

In a spirited rally in Nanded on Monday evening, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi unleashed a scathing critique of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies, accusing them of attempting to undermine centuries-old Muslim religious institutions through the recently enacted Waqf Act.

Addressing a throng of supporters ahead of the Nanded-Waghala Municipal Corporation elections on 15 January, Owaisi painted a picture of mosques and dargahs — the sacred heart of the community — being threatened by governmental overreach. “The intention of the government through the Waqf Act is to lock mosques, challenge the ownership of dargahs that are over a hundred years old, and place them under the Archaeological Survey of India,” he asserted, urging voters to reject BJP, Ajit Pawar-led NCP, and Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena.

Owaisi exhorted the community to use their votes as a shield against perceived injustice, insisting that Muslims are neither tenants nor second-class citizens. “This is our country too,” he declared passionately, invoking both history and the Constitution in his defense of religious liberty and civic rights. He reminded citizens that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) would soon take place in Maharashtra, emphasizing the urgency for people to ensure their names remained on electoral rolls by voting.

With his characteristic blend of history and political critique, Owaisi recalled the Mumbai serial train blasts of 2006, which claimed 185 lives and led to prolonged imprisonment of 11 Muslim men, highlighting the perceived lack of justice for both victims and the accused. He questioned Congress’s role at the time, contrasting it with AIMIM’s advocacy for equal rights.

Taking aim at individual leaders, Owaisi criticised deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar for splitting from his uncle Sharad Pawar, and BJP MP Ashok Chavan for being sidelined at the Centre. “Modi didn’t even make him a minister,” he said, adding with colorful imagery that Chavan was “sidelined like a fly taken out of a cup of tea.”

The AIMIM leader framed his focus on religious issues not as a political maneuver, but as a constitutional duty. “People say I bring mosques and dargahs into politics. I say this because my connection to these places is rooted in the Constitution’s promise of liberty of thought, expression, and belief,” he said.

With the elections looming, Owaisi’s message was clear: the community must rise above fear, preserve its sacred spaces, and assert its rightful place in the democratic process. “If they kill a few persons and try to spread terror, do not let that fear reach you. A large number of Muslims fought the British and were imprisoned in Kalapani. We are not tenants or second-class citizens. This is our country too,” he reminded the crowd, blending history, faith, and political resolve into a powerful call for action.

With PTI inputs