AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi said strong leadership was essential to fight communalism and to “finish the job”. | Photo credit: MOHD ARIF
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday sought to argue that Muslims in India are being reduced to the role of mere voters and urged the community to build and strengthen its own political leadership. He called on intellectuals to debate the comments of Muslim parties which are not “good for the country”.
Mr. Owaisi was addressing a public rally ahead of Telangana civic polls in Jagtial from where the party has fielded eight candidates in Jagtial municipality. Here he pointed out that the prevailing political attitude sought to restrict people to voting “and sitting at home”.
“You are not just voters. You are citizens with rights,” he said, adding that Muslims have historically been prevented from developing independent political leadership. Referring to the early years of the country, he claimed that Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, when he was the Education Minister, did not make it to Parliament for a year. “Ask them why it happened,” he added.
The Hyderabad MP criticized what he described as muted interventions by Muslim members of parliament from the Congress and the Samajwadi Party on matters of faith. Referring to the recent parliamentary debate on Vande Mataram, he claimed that while several Muslim MPs failed to articulate a position, he spoke by invoking the constitution as well as religious freedom.
Mr. Owaisi suggested that the parties were indulging in symbolism during Ramzan and Bakrid. Responding to critics who say the rise of Muslim political parties has not been good for the nation, Mr Owaisi said he was willing to publicly debate such claims. He pointed out that there was political leadership based on caste and community identity, including the Thakur, Brahmin, Reddy, Velama, Kapu, Padmashali, Goud, Mala and Madiga communities, and questioned why Muslim leadership was portrayed as “not possible”.
Describing Muslim political representation as “good for the country”, Mr Owaisi said strong leadership was essential to fight communalism and to “get the job done”.
He touched on the planned special intensive review exercise and appealed to the masjid’s management committees to talk about the issue. He said that no valid Muslim name should be removed.
Published – 07 Feb 2026 20:36 IST
