AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi Saturday charged Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar with having betrayed the people's trust by securing their votes in the name of defeating the BJP but later returning to the NDA led by the saffron party.
Addressing a press conference here, the Hyderabad MP took a jibe at the JD(U) chief saying, "We were accused of being BJP agents during the Assembly election. Yet it is he (Kumar) who ended up in the lap of Narendra Modi."
In the 2015 Assembly polls, the All India Majlis-e- Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) had fielded candidates in the Seemanchal region drawing criticism from the 'Mahagathbandhan' comprising JD(U) led by Kumar, RJD and Congress. The parties had alleged that Owaisi was trying to cut into "secular votes" at the instance of the BJP which had assumed power at the Centre by that time.
Kumar, however, walked out of the alliance two years later and formed a new government with the BJP. His JD(U) is gearing up to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls as a constituent of the NDA, which in Bihar also comprises Ram Vilas Paswan's LJP.
"Nitish Kumar has cheated the people. He will have to answer them in the upcoming elections," Owaisi said.
He said AIMIM would be contesting a number of seats in the Seemanchal region in the general elections pressing the demand for special provision for the impoverished belt.
Seemanchal is the northeastern part of Bihar comprising Araria, Katihar, Kishanganj and Purnea districts.
"I have even moved a private member's bill, pressing the demand for this part of Bihar, in the Lok Sabha. I hope it would be taken up for discussion in the next session," Owaisi said.
To a query about Sharia courts, Owaisi said, "These judicial bodies must not be looked at with suspicion. If an aggrieved party is not satisfied with the verdict delivered by a Sharia court, the option of moving a regular court is available for him.
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