SP, BJP two sides of same coin: Asad Owaisi

AIMIM party chief Asaduddin Owaisi today attacked BJP and Samajwadi Party, terming them as "two sides of the same coin" and alleged while RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has been given liberty to hold meetings here, a ban had been imposed on him. The Hyderabad MP said his party considered SP and BJP as its main rival in 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. "Our fight is against both SP and BJP. These parties are two sides of the same coin," he told party workers here. On administration in the state capital "imposing" a ban on his rally, Owaisi said "RSS chief Bhagwat has got the freedom, but ban is being imposed on us because in reality, the SP government is afraid of us." Owaisi had been scheduled to visit Lucknow along with Faizabad, Azamgarh and Ambedkarnagar earlier this month. He was also scheduled to address a rally in Lucknow but was refused permission by the administration citing law and order issues. After that, Owaisi's entire Uttar Pradesh tour had been cancelled. The AIMIM chief, who now faces no ban on his Lucknow visit, alleged that SP and BJP were solely responsible for Muzaffarnagar riots but those responsible were given a "clean chit" in the inquiry report. Owaisi, who faced criticism for his remarks on chanting of 'Bharat Mata ki Jai'," said he does not need a "certificate of patriotism" from anyone. He said Muslims have made big sacrifices for the country and their patriotism could not be "questioned" just for the sake of a slogan. The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen president alleged that SP dispensation in Uttar Pradesh has failed on all fronts and accused it of "deliberately" keeping Muslims backward. "Muslims are pushed back in the field of education. It promised 18 per cent reservation to Muslims, which has not been fulfilled. The government has made no provision for the welfare of Muslims in its budget. Does Akhilesh want to keep Muslims behind in the field of education?" he said. Earlier, the AIMIM chief offered prayers at dargaah of Haji Waris Ali Shah here and visited Islamic seminary at Nadwa and met clerics. He also met prominent Shia cleric Kalbe Jawwad.