Suhas Sardeshmukh, Loksatta
Aurangabad MIM MP Imtiaz Jalil, along with their leader Akbaruddin Owaisi, bowed at Aurangzeb’s grave and invited Raj Thackeray to hold an ‘iftar party’ instead of protesting against the removal of the horns in the mosque. This action performed by him in a saffron headdress was the key to pro-Hindu activists. But now they wander around questioning our relationship with Aurangzeb and the Mughals. Aurangzeb was never the ‘ideal’ of the MIM party. Why blame the current Muslim community for the mistakes of the last 400 years? It is wrong to ask such a question, Imtiaz Jalil said in an exclusive interview for Loksatta. At the same time, Khalil also predicted that in the upcoming Aurangabad Municipal Corporation elections, the Hindu-Muslim dispute issue will not be resolved and the vote will be held from the administration.
The secular role of Congress, the NCP, is questioned by the MIM. So what does it mean to bow to Aurangzeb’s grave? We do not consciously visit the tomb of Aurangzeb. Akbaruddin Owaisi’s visit was to Panchakki and Khultabad. We ask for ‘Dua’ at Jarjari Baksh and other tombs. In Muslim society, there is a method of requesting prayers for all those in the grave. He had gone to Aurangzeb’s grave. But as we were going, there was a commotion. Farmer leader Rakesh Tikait had also visited this tomb. But MIM was branded a traitor. So is aurangzeb the ideal of MIM or not? We have nothing to do with Aurangzeb. We do not want to be associated with any tycoon. So why bother with today’s Muslims linking history to 400 years ago? Even in the past, we were given the adjective Shelaki, a descendant of Razakar.
He was also criticized for not attending the Hyderabad Mukti Sangram Day program on September 17. But this assumption was wrong. We attended this event. But this process, which makes us demonstrate our patriotism every time, is wrong. Indeed, why are we not associated with leaders like Maulana Azad. But never associating with good image leaders is also part of the stigma. What were the feelings of the Muslim community behind the issue of removing the horns and how much will it affect the municipal elections? – The de-horning issue raised by Raj Thackeray 15 years ago would have been enough to throw a stick in a city like Aurangabad. But now the situation has changed. Raj Thackeray was coming to Aurangabad to speak on the Bhonge issue. So we invite them to come to the city and have an iftar party for Ramadan. So suppose if we had taken to the streets to challenge Raj Thackeray to come here before the show, then law and order would have been threatened. But we didn’t let that happen. Even today, many are grateful for it. Such a case will not affect the municipal elections. Because even in the latest period of propaganda, such a sharp Hindu-Muslim propaganda will not work. Now the city is changing.
So, what issues will be in the municipal elections? In fact, if water, roads, sanitation had already been voted on, Aurangabad would not have found itself in such a precarious situation. The BJP, which did nothing while in power, staged a water march. Eight elected corporations from Shiv Sena and six and seven from BJP run the municipal corporation with percentage. The consequences are already being felt in the city. Therefore, instead of issues like Hindutva, at the meeting to be held on the anniversary, the Chief Minister should announce in which month the city will receive water along with the sports university, IIM, which was squeezed out of Marathwada by the Chief Minister. But that won’t happen. Shiv Sena and BJP, who have been in power for 30 years, are responsible for the futility of Aurangabad. Before, 26 MIM councilors were elected. Five corporations that did not function properly were expelled from the MIM. MIM will now win 40 of the 126 new seats.
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