AIMIM need to work to remove Muslim only party image: Owaisi

Bengaluru: AIMIM President and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi on Friday said he will have to work more towards removing the perception that his party was Muslim only party.

“…This is a wrong perception, yes I will have to do more work on that and I will continue to do it. I will accept it,” Owaisi told reporters here.

“Our opponents will always talk about it…; we will have to dispel that perception,” he said pointing out that they were able to make some progress in this regard during Aurangabad municipal elections, Maharashtra Assembly elections and also in Hyderabad.

He also hit out at Congress and BJP for trying to label his party as non secular saying “when I was in UPA for eight years, I was holy cow for them. Now when I’m not with Congress I have become anti-secular.”

“For Asaduddin Owaisi to get a secular certificate he has to go to a secular party office, to get a nationalist certificate I will have to go to BJP. Are these people running notary office of giving certificates?” he said.

He questioned BJP asking “where its patriotism has gone. Why is it quiet?”

Taking strong exception for him not being given permission to hold a rally in the city, he hit out at Congress government alleging it was trying to curtail his freedom of expression.

“I am really surprised that from February 2015 to August 2015 whenever I have asked permission for public meeting to address I was not given a permission, a lame excuse is being given by the Congress government stating that law and order is not good,” he said.