Hyderabad: All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief and Hyderabad Lok Sabha MP Asaduddin Owaisi on Wednesday, July 2, skirted the issue of the ruling Congress not having a Muslim minister in its cabinet. The MP, while answering questions from the media, essentially refused to answer the question and told reporters to ask the ruling government.
The question of the lack of a Muslim minister in the ruling Congress government was shot at Asaduddin Owaisi during a long press conference at the AIMIM headquarters at Darussalam in Hyderabad.
The AIMIM and Congress currently have an unofficial alliance, which was formed after the 2023 Telangana state elections. The AIMIM had earlier supported the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government in the same way, and jumped ship soon after it lost the polls.
“Jo jeeta woh sikandar…Hamarku koi shauk nahi hai,” retorted Owaisi at the press conference when asked if an AIMIM MLA could be made a minister in the ruling government as well. He went on to say that his party will support Revanth Reddy for five years. “I am here, the chief minister is here. He heads the state. Why are you asking me? Do I ask you what’s cooking in your house? I can talk about what is happening in my house,” stated Owaisi.
The question on the issue visibly made him uncomfortable. The ruling Congress had sought support from the Muslim community, and after coming to power, it was expected to give one cabinet berth to a Muslim leader.
However, in the 2023 Assembly polls, all of the Congress Muslim candidates failed to win. Eventually, the party made editor of the Siasat Daily Amer Ali Khan an MLC.
“The AIMIM clearly does not want any other Muslim in the Congress to have power, or they will challenge him. He is happy to support them and make the ruling party rely on him so that he will wield power indirectly,” said a political analyst from Hyderabad who did not want to be named
In the past as well, minority leaders in the Congress have complained about building a strong minority cell so that the party can build a solid support base amongst Muslims. After the formation of Telangana in 2014, there had been a notable shift among Muslims towards the BRS, thanks to its social welfare schemes like Shaadi Mubarak and also BRS supremo K Chandrashekar Rao’s secular narrative.
Back then, the BRS sought help from the AIMIM and was more than happy with their “friendly’ relationship. Owaisi had never sought any post in the then government, just like he chooses to keep the AIMIM away from being a part of the government. “This is a clever way to hold power. Because if he asks for something, he will also have to listen to the Congress or compromise,” the analyst added.
