West Bengal Elections 2021: All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi has lashed out at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for accusing him of dividing minority votes in Bengal.
Speaking exclusively to ABP News Correspondent Manogya Loiwal, AIMIM Chief alleged that the TMC supremo has done little for the Muslim community of the state. "Mamata has betrayed Muslims in Bengal. The party feels Muslims are votebank," Owaisi said.
Slamming the Chief Minister over communal politics, Owaisi said, "Mamata is Chanting mantras and saying kalmas...all this is drama for votes. Modi and Mamata are the same. Muslims want development, not appeasement."
He went on to accuse Mamata of hobnobbing with the Bharatiya Janata Party after the riots in Gujarat in 2002 and said, "I was a part of Nandigram movement as an MP and she thanked me so many times but now she is calling me B team of BJP. She was awarded with a cabinet berth for staying silent on Gujarat riots."
It can be recalled the Communist Party of India (Marxist) member Sitaram Yechury in a Twitter post in 2019 alleged similar allegations against CM Mamata. "After 2002 Gujarat riots, Ms Mamata Banerjee was a Minister in the BJP govt, she went to polls in alliance with BJP in 2004, facilitated the entry of BJP into Bengal & is doing so even today. She is now preaching to us, who have always fought RSS-BJP?" Yechury tweeted.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">After 2002 Gujarat riots, Ms Mamata Banerjee was a Minister in the BJP govt, she went to polls in alliance with BJP in 2004, facilitated the entry of BJP into Bengal & is doing so even today. She is now preaching to us, who have always fought RSS-BJP? <a >#BirdsOfAFeather</a> <a >#BJPTMC</a> <a >pic.twitter.com/CBIcXXlNsD</a></p>— Sitaram Yechury (@SitaramYechury) <a >May 14, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Owaisi's remarks came after the Chief Minister ahead of crucial phase-3 polling, warned against an alleged split in minority votes. In a veiled attack on Asaduddin Owaisi and Abbas Siddiqui, Banerjee said, "A friend of BJP has come from Hyderabad. Along with a boy from Furfura Sharif he is spending crores of rupees and giving communal slogans. They are not only trying to divide Hindus and Muslims, but even attempting to split the Muslim votes."
AIMIM president meanwhile showed confidence in sealing victory with bright colours in the ongoing Bengal Assembly Elections and upcoming UP polls. "We are contesting on 6 seats and will do very well in Bengal. I am confident for UP and have big plans for the state. We will be a major stake holder in the UP elections," Owaisi added.
It is to be noted that that the Muslim vote bank plays a great role in political corridors of Bengal. The TMC ruled state has around 30 per cent Muslims which is a sizeable chunk that has ensured victory for Mamata in successive elections. Some 125 out of Bengal's 294 assembly seats are such where the Muslim vote is decisive in determining the electoral outcome. Hence, from TMC to BJP to the Indian Secular Front, all the major parties in fray are trying to woo the minority community.