Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], January 20 : All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday said that those opposing the idea of a hijab-wearing woman becoming India's Prime Minister are "speaking the language of Pakistan".
Accusing Devendra Fadnavis of politicising the issue, he said that the Maharashtra Chief Minister had raised it first. The AIMIM chief clarified that he was merely responding and reiterated the views he had been expressing for the past two years.
"You are talking about a burqa issue, but who created this issue? It was Devendra Fadnavis who created it. He started saying things; I only responded. Yes, I have been saying this from the very beginning--I've been saying it for the last two years--that it is my desire, my effort, my dream that one day the Prime Minister of this country should be a girl who wears a hijab," Owaisi told ANI.
"That is exactly what we are saying: dream, stay united to fulfil those dreams, and work towards them. if someone has a problem with this--if it's causing pain in someone's stomach--then you are speaking the language of Pakistan," he said.
Owaisi's remarks come in response to Fadnavis asserting that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) mayor will be "from Mahayuti, will be a Hindu, and a Marathi". The Maharashtra CM had made these remarks while addressing a gathering in Worli during the election campaign for the recently concluded BMC polls.
Defending his remarks, the AIMIM leader questioned the rationale behind labelling the statement controversial. Owaisi asked why dreaming about such a future should be seen as problematic. He said the Constitution of India does not stop anyone from dreaming or working to achieve such goals.
"If I am saying this, is that a crime? Can we not dream? Can we not try to fulfil that dream? Does the Constitution of India stop us from this? No, it does not," said Owaisi.
Owaisi, while campaigning for the Maharashtra local body elections in Solapur, had said that one day a woman wearing a hijab would become the Prime Minister of India.
AIMIM registered significant gains in the recently concluded Maharashtra municipal body elections, winning more seats than in the previous polls and securing eight seats in the BMC elections.
AIMIM's tally marks a substantial rise from the 2017 municipal elections, when AIMIM had secured 81 seats. This time, it posted strong performances in cities such as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Malegaon, Dhule, Amravati, Solapur and Mumbai. The victory in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation was particularly significant, as it marked AIMIM's first-ever entry into the civic body of India's financial capital.
In Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar alone, AIMIM candidates won more than 30 wards, consolidating the party's standing in the region. Observers credit sustained grassroots campaigning and direct voter engagement for the improved outcome.
Meanwhile, across the 2,869 seats across municipal bodies, the BJP-led Mahayuti emerged as the clear winner in multiple places, securing 1,824 seats.
Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS together managed to win only 168 seats across the state in the recently concluded local body polls.
The Congress, which fought the polls alongside the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), secured 324 seats. The NCP, which was in alliance with the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, won 167 and 36 seats, respectively.