MIM is for united Andhra: Asad

You have retained the Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat since 1984. What’s the reason behind your success?

I thank Allah for bestowing his blessings on me and the party. It is the hard work and team work of the party workers. It is also the confidence of the party workers in me. Any politician succeeds, if he takes up welfare measures for the public and is accessible to the common man. We meet the needs of the common man, understand his difficulties and work towards solutions.

You do not want to accept Hyderabad as a common capital or Union Territory. Why?

Can you show me one place in the world or in India where there is a situation of this kind? Nowhere in the world, there is a capital for one country in another country. How can you have a capital of a state which is 180 km away in another state?

Bifurcation will hurt the interests of Muslims in the State, and the Sangh Parivar and other communal forces will gain strength. Bifurcation will lead to miscarriage of justice against Muslims. Muslims, Christians and Dalits will be the losers in the event of the division while it will help the Sangh Parivar to grow strong. How can we allow Central control over law and order, municipal administration, revenue, land administration, higher education and medicare? How is this possible logically? Hyderabad is the epicenter of growth for the Telangana region and if you take it away, the region will die. We want Hyderabad to be the ‘unconditional capital’ of the state of Telangana as it is an integral part of this region. Hyderabad has been the capital of Telangana or Hyderabad state. There was no relationship with either Andhra or Rayalseema region for 400 years. They were under the British and we were under the Nizam. Hyderabad has never been part of the British Empire and it has always been independent. So, there is no question of Hyderabad not being a part of Telangana. Hyderabad is not Chandigarh. There is no geographical contiguity between Hyderabad and Andhra

Why do you feel there is a threat to minorities if Telangana or Rayala Telangana is formed?

If Andhra Pradesh is bifurcated, the only political beneficiary of this bifurcation, unfortunately, will be the BJP i.e., Sangh Pariwar. They will strengthen their presence. The biggest losers will be Congress and the Chandrababu Naidu-led Telugu Desam Party. TDP will lose ground over here and will be recognised as an Andhra party. The TRS party was formed with a single mission of achieving Telangana. What will be their utility once Telangana is formed, and who will be benefited by the political vacuum which will be created? The TDP has always been anti-Congress, the TRS may or may not join hands with the Congress; so the beneficiary of this situation will be the BJP. The Bharatiya Janata Party does not believe in secular ethos of our country, so it is a threat to communities with small numbers. Most of the parties are under new progressive leadership, and the history of Andhra Pradesh, the historic formation of Hyderabad, will mean little to them.

You feel if there is bifurcation, BJP/Sangh Parivar will rise. But even if there is no bifurcation, BJP’s manifesto will say ‘vote us and we will give you a separate Telangana’

The BJP wants small states throughout India because it cannot grow in large states. It wants the country to be divided into many small states. Uttarakhand is an example. They are in power in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. The BJP promises to build Ram mandir to come to power. They promise to propagate Hinduism. Should the other secular parties do the same, build Ram mandir to come to power

You have been against separate Telangana since the inception of the party. But after the Srikrishna report, you accepted division and requested Rayala Telangana. Now UPA may favour your decision; then what will be your stand?

This is a misinterpretation. I wish the report was not presented, doing a cut and paste job. The misguiding questionnaire asked us: What is your stand on the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh? Second, what are the other options which you can give us? In that option, we asked for whole of Rayalseema, not just the two districts of Anantapur and Kurnool. And the conclusion was we stand for united Andhra and we are against bifurcation, and under no conditions, Hyderabad should be made a Union Territory. It was an answer to a questionnaire but not a final decision.

In case Andhra Pradesh is bifurcated and Rayala Telangana becomes a reality, then would you lobby for special package for Muslims in Rayala Telangana?

Which Muslims? If am talking of a united Andhra, I am looking at Muslims living everywhere. Now, if I take up the call of Muslims living in this region, you will ask what about Muslims living in that region. That is why we are of the opinion that the interests of the Muslims and secularism will be best served in united Andhra Pradesh. In the report recently to the GoM, we have requested for a Rs 5,000-crore package for the Old City. We have requested the GoM to declare Old City as a “backward area and sanction this amount for its urban renewal and civic infrastructure. The QQSUDA (Quli Qutub Shah Urban Development Authority) with a population of 25 lakh is unable to take up any welfare projects because of lack of budgets.

Rayala Telangana and Hyderabad as Union Territory, your reaction?

Hyderabad can never be a Union Territory, because Telangana has been a hinterland of Hyderabad. Will the protagonists for separate Telangana like the TRS accept it? Making Chandigarh a Union Territory has created huge upheavals for the people of Punjab and led to internecine militant and secessionist movement in this country. New Delhi actually continues to be a Union Territory with certain State-like powers conferred on it through Constitutional Amendment. Therefore, the Union government could retain certain powers with itself. That cannot be applied to states. Take into account legal, financial and administrative measures that may be required for transition to a new capital of the residuary state of Andhra Pradesh. There are many Gujaratis living in Mumbai, owning businesses. But revenues from Mumbai are not shared with Gujarat. We will rise up in a major protest, if the status of Hyderabad is not defined in clear and unambiguous terms. Rs 80,000 crore is being paid from Hyderabad and surrounding areas to the Central and the state governments as taxes, and not even 5-10% taxes come from other parts of Telangana.

Many Muslim intellects and scholars believe if a separate state is formed, then Muslims will have numerical advantage, thus increasing their political clout. Is the analysis justified?

Smaller states do make any sense. With 119 seats in the Assembly (7 MIM MLAs) I can increase our strength, I will have more bargaining power, but what is the price the community will pay for this? In 112 seats of Telangana (excluding 7 held by MIM) there is not a single Muslim MLA. You have 17 Lok Sabha seats, but you have only one Muslim MP. Muslims do not vote for their Muslim brothers. We need to first stand united to win and have an advantage over the others. It is not about a small or a big state.

You have plans to fight elections from other neighbouring states in 2014. What happened?

We are planning to expand our roots to Karnataka and Maharashtra, and our candidates will fight elections from these states

Is it acceptable if certain state powers are taken over by the Union Government in case of a bifurcation?

The responsibility of Law & Order has to remain in Hyderabad. Handing over this responsibility to the Union Government will set a new precedent in future state formations where a newly formed state is treated as ‘irresponsible’, and therefore ‘incapable’ of handling the security concerns of people living in that state. Even when widespread riots occurred in Mumbai or in Bangalore, no such powers were taken away from the state government. So the relevant question is – why should Telangana give up those responsibilities when no incidents related to security have taken place? What is the basis for these fears? Are they based on real incidents or imaginary?