All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen president Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday said the Shiv Sena was a communal party and the so-called secular parties like the Congress and NCP had joined hands with the Uddhav Thackeray-led outfit to grab power in Maharashtra.
In the process, Owaisi, who was addressing a party convention in Solapur, said the Muslim community had got a slap on the face from the Congress and NCP.
"Rahul Gandhi, Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray decided to come together. I was urging the (Muslim) community to come together but you did not understand my appeal. Now they have come together and slapped you on the face," he said.
"I want to ask all those Muslims who became the victims of the lies of the NCP and Congress if they have an answer to my question. Will you be able to answer yourself that the parties you supported brought the Sena to power," he asked.
The Shiv Sena, like the BJP, was and would remain communal, Owaisi said, adding that "the Majlis, Muslims, Dalits or those who believe in secular values" do not need any certificate on secularism from such parties.
Attacking Rahul Gandhi and Pawar, Owaisi said the two leaders ask Muslims to not vote for AIMIM, but had themselves aligned with the Sena to safeguard power, properties and families.
"Have you forgotten what happened on the streets of Mumbai? Have you forgotten the Srikrishna Commission? Have you forgotten all those hateful statements? I remember everything," Owaisi said further in his attack on the Congress and NCP.
"Is it not true that CM Thackeray, standing in the Assembly, spoke about temple and masjid. Do you (NCP and Congress ) not feel ashamed when your CM says that we (Shiv Sena ) demolished Babri Masjid," he said, and appealed to the Muslims to not believe the NCP and Congress anymore and to use their vote wisely.
