The Congress was among those responsible for the 1947 Partition, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi said on Sunday, adding that it was wrong to hold Muslims responsible for the split.
Addressing a rally in Gujarat's Limbayat, Owaisi cited Maulana Abul Kalam (country's first Education Minister) Azad’s book India Wins Freedom, saying Azad had appealed to Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru to prevent the division of the country.
"Muslims were not responsible for the partition. Is the Congress party not among those responsible for the partition? In his book India Wins Freedom, Maulana Azad writes that he went to Gandhi and Nehru and appealed to them not to let India be divided," he said.
Owaisi also criticised the Congress and the All India Trinamool Congress for calling the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) the BJP’s "B team" in West Bengal and objected to criticism over his party contesting 11 seats.
"Some allege that when Owaisi contests elections, the BJP benefits. In West Bengal, Congress is contesting 294 seats, TMC is contesting 294 seats, the Left Front is contesting 250 seats, and Owaisi's party is contesting 11 seats. BJP is also contesting 294 seats. They have a problem with me contesting the elections... Forget 11, win 270 seats and defeat the BJP... How long will you keep this society from forming its own leadership?" he said.
Owaisi projected AIMIM as a party capable of challenging the BJP within constitutional limits. "If anyone can stop the BJP and, within the bounds of the Constitution, look them in the eye and force them to accept our rights, then that party is the AIMIM... This is the time to stand up and assert your rights," he added.
Earlier, at a rally in Asansol, Owaisi targeted the TMC and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, holding them responsible for the BJP's rise in the state.
"If the BJP is strong in Bengal, then the TMC and Mamata Banerjee are responsible for that. The damage that the BJP and PM Narendra Modi do to India's Constitution and Muslims, especially the poor, is equally done by the TMC," he alleged.
He further accused the state government of neglecting minority-dominated areas. "In those blocks of Bengal where there are a large number of Muslims, there are no schools, no hospitals, and if there is a hospital, there are no beds; if there are beds, there are no doctors. In those areas, people don't even have access to clean water, and farmers aren't given any help... Here, women are facing the biggest problems," Owaisi claimed.
(With inputs from ANI)
