Asaduddin Owaisi, president of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen party and member of Parliament from Hyderabad in the Lok Sabha, talks to Kavita Chowdhury about the Hyderabad twin
blasts, the "political vendetta" against him and his brother and the party's stand on Telangana
After the recent bomb blasts in Hyderabad, both Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and the city police have acknowledged that they had prior intelligence inputs. Who do you think is to be held accountable for this lapse?
If it [Andhra Pradesh government] would have been a non-Congress government, Shinde would be harsher on the state government. As of now, Shinde is trying to do a balancing act.
Whether the speech by Akbaruddin was a "hate speech" or not is to be determined by the courts. My brother was in prison for 41 days, and he is now out on bail. But as far as the blasts are concerned, these should not be looked at through the prisms of a Hindu or a Muslim. I had strongly condemned Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj's reckless statement in Parliament connecting the blasts to Muslims.
As for the alleged "hate speeches" made by my brother, the whole episode is a political act of vengeance because we pulled out of the government. If you look at the so-called "hate speeches", the first was made on December 8, 2012 in Nizamabad, and the second in Nirmal on December 23, 2012. Why did it take 10 days to book an FIR [first information report]?
Hyderabad, it seems, has become the target of repeated attacks.
We just haven't learnt our lessons. In 2007, there were the Mecca Masjid blasts, Lumbini Park and Gokul Chat blasts. Even in 2006, there were bomb blasts at the Odeon theatre. The city is being targeted again and again since there is no system in place. The counter-intelligence unit, the special "Octopus" forces - they are all ineffective. And, as always, these agencies make the same mistake - pick up innocent youth.
You've been constantly highlighting the alienation of Muslim youth...
Yes, young boys who were picked up in the aftermath of the Mecca Masjid blasts and subsequently released, since there was nothing against them, are being harassed again. Most of them have decided to return the Rs 2 lakh compensation that was given to them - in order to protest against their continued harassment. The local intelligence unit and the special operations group have been monitoring them for the last five to six days. They are being victimised again. Such incidents alienate the whole Muslim community.
We believe the Indian Mujahideen (IM) is a figment of the imagination of these agencies because for three months after the Mecca Masjid blasts, 110 boys were tortured in the name of IM. Ultimately, Aseemanand was arrested. All these boys were from my constituency, and I helped them fight their cases. No Muslim in Hyderabad today believes this IM theory. Why should we believe IM is responsible for the recent blasts. Has anyone come forward and taken responsibility?
I take strong exception to Shinde pre-empting the investigation in the blasts and stating that it could be a reaction to the hanging of Ajmal Kasab and Afzal Guru. Let the National Investigation Agency come up with some credible evidence, instead of everybody, including the media, jumping the gun. We need to act more responsibly.
Is this sense of alienation confined to Hyderabad in particular?
No, a general sense of alienation within the community prevails across the country. I accept that the community must take the responsibility for it - we have not been able to give a political face and voice to the young Muslim. However, the continued under development of the community, owing to improper implementation of special schemes, is the fault of the government. Even in Karnataka, a Deccan Herald journalist was wrongly confined for six months and released the other day; who will give him back those six months?
Till November last year, your party was in coalition with the ruling Congress government in Andhra Pradesh. But it snapped ties owing to a dispute over a temple. Would you like to elaborate on the issue?
The incident refers to the Bhagyalakshmi temple, located next to the Charminar. As stated in the law, there can be no construction within 100 metres of a protected monument. My party had protested against the extension of the temple, which is less than five metres from the Charminar monument, but no action was taken. So, we withdrew our support to the Congress.
Over the last two years, several communal incidents have taken place. There were two riots, one at Sangareddy in Medak district (55 km from Hyderabad) and at Adoni in Kurnool district (180 km from Hyderabad). We continuously told the state government to act, but no steps were taken. Besides, the government has been cutting down on development schemes for minorities.
Andhra Pradesh has the highest number of minority engineering and MBA [Master of Business Administration] colleges, and because of the popular fee reimbursement scheme, not a single seat went vacant. But the government cut down on the amount of scholarship last year, the scheme that benefited Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes as well.
Our decision to withdraw support was well-considered. We had been supporting the Congress government since 1998, and we had stood by the party even when it was not in power, because it upheld secularism. But now, it has failed us. Our decision to pull out was not an impulsive one.
According to some, the state's preoccupation with managing the "Telangana" issue has led to lax law and order in the state, in a way precipitating the bomb blasts.
Definitely. The law and order machinery and the police force in the state are focused on controlling the pro- and anti-Telangana agitations. Owing to the indecisiveness of the Central and state governments [on Telangana], a blind eye has been turned on the issue of law and order, and innocent people are paying with their lives.
What is your stand on the demand for Telangana? What about the demand for Hyderabad as a union territory?
In principle, we are opposed to the bifurcation of the state, but if it has to happen, we are in favour of a state with Telangana and Rayalseema as one unit and Hyderabad as the capital. We are not ready to accept Hyderabad as a union territory. Telangana has always been the hinterland of Hyderabad and both cannot survive without each other. In fact, Hyderabad is not the bone of contention; water-sharing will be the major issue. As it is, Andhra Pradesh is fighting water wars with several of its neighbouring states.
blasts, the "political vendetta" against him and his brother and the party's stand on Telangana
After the recent bomb blasts in Hyderabad, both Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and the city police have acknowledged that they had prior intelligence inputs. Who do you think is to be held accountable for this lapse?
If it [Andhra Pradesh government] would have been a non-Congress government, Shinde would be harsher on the state government. As of now, Shinde is trying to do a balancing act.
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There has been some speculation that the blasts are a reaction to the "hate speeches" made by the likes of Praveen Togadia and your brother Akbaruddin Owaisi.
Whether the speech by Akbaruddin was a "hate speech" or not is to be determined by the courts. My brother was in prison for 41 days, and he is now out on bail. But as far as the blasts are concerned, these should not be looked at through the prisms of a Hindu or a Muslim. I had strongly condemned Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj's reckless statement in Parliament connecting the blasts to Muslims.
As for the alleged "hate speeches" made by my brother, the whole episode is a political act of vengeance because we pulled out of the government. If you look at the so-called "hate speeches", the first was made on December 8, 2012 in Nizamabad, and the second in Nirmal on December 23, 2012. Why did it take 10 days to book an FIR [first information report]?
Hyderabad, it seems, has become the target of repeated attacks.
We just haven't learnt our lessons. In 2007, there were the Mecca Masjid blasts, Lumbini Park and Gokul Chat blasts. Even in 2006, there were bomb blasts at the Odeon theatre. The city is being targeted again and again since there is no system in place. The counter-intelligence unit, the special "Octopus" forces - they are all ineffective. And, as always, these agencies make the same mistake - pick up innocent youth.
You've been constantly highlighting the alienation of Muslim youth...
Yes, young boys who were picked up in the aftermath of the Mecca Masjid blasts and subsequently released, since there was nothing against them, are being harassed again. Most of them have decided to return the Rs 2 lakh compensation that was given to them - in order to protest against their continued harassment. The local intelligence unit and the special operations group have been monitoring them for the last five to six days. They are being victimised again. Such incidents alienate the whole Muslim community.
We believe the Indian Mujahideen (IM) is a figment of the imagination of these agencies because for three months after the Mecca Masjid blasts, 110 boys were tortured in the name of IM. Ultimately, Aseemanand was arrested. All these boys were from my constituency, and I helped them fight their cases. No Muslim in Hyderabad today believes this IM theory. Why should we believe IM is responsible for the recent blasts. Has anyone come forward and taken responsibility?
I take strong exception to Shinde pre-empting the investigation in the blasts and stating that it could be a reaction to the hanging of Ajmal Kasab and Afzal Guru. Let the National Investigation Agency come up with some credible evidence, instead of everybody, including the media, jumping the gun. We need to act more responsibly.
Is this sense of alienation confined to Hyderabad in particular?
No, a general sense of alienation within the community prevails across the country. I accept that the community must take the responsibility for it - we have not been able to give a political face and voice to the young Muslim. However, the continued under development of the community, owing to improper implementation of special schemes, is the fault of the government. Even in Karnataka, a Deccan Herald journalist was wrongly confined for six months and released the other day; who will give him back those six months?
Till November last year, your party was in coalition with the ruling Congress government in Andhra Pradesh. But it snapped ties owing to a dispute over a temple. Would you like to elaborate on the issue?
The incident refers to the Bhagyalakshmi temple, located next to the Charminar. As stated in the law, there can be no construction within 100 metres of a protected monument. My party had protested against the extension of the temple, which is less than five metres from the Charminar monument, but no action was taken. So, we withdrew our support to the Congress.
Over the last two years, several communal incidents have taken place. There were two riots, one at Sangareddy in Medak district (55 km from Hyderabad) and at Adoni in Kurnool district (180 km from Hyderabad). We continuously told the state government to act, but no steps were taken. Besides, the government has been cutting down on development schemes for minorities.
Andhra Pradesh has the highest number of minority engineering and MBA [Master of Business Administration] colleges, and because of the popular fee reimbursement scheme, not a single seat went vacant. But the government cut down on the amount of scholarship last year, the scheme that benefited Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes as well.
Our decision to withdraw support was well-considered. We had been supporting the Congress government since 1998, and we had stood by the party even when it was not in power, because it upheld secularism. But now, it has failed us. Our decision to pull out was not an impulsive one.
According to some, the state's preoccupation with managing the "Telangana" issue has led to lax law and order in the state, in a way precipitating the bomb blasts.
Definitely. The law and order machinery and the police force in the state are focused on controlling the pro- and anti-Telangana agitations. Owing to the indecisiveness of the Central and state governments [on Telangana], a blind eye has been turned on the issue of law and order, and innocent people are paying with their lives.
What is your stand on the demand for Telangana? What about the demand for Hyderabad as a union territory?
In principle, we are opposed to the bifurcation of the state, but if it has to happen, we are in favour of a state with Telangana and Rayalseema as one unit and Hyderabad as the capital. We are not ready to accept Hyderabad as a union territory. Telangana has always been the hinterland of Hyderabad and both cannot survive without each other. In fact, Hyderabad is not the bone of contention; water-sharing will be the major issue. As it is, Andhra Pradesh is fighting water wars with several of its neighbouring states.