MIM eyes Mumbai

Gears up for civic polls

Mumbai (Agencies): Upbeat with its impressive debut in Aurangabad municipal election, the MIM is now gearing up for Mumbai municipal polls to take on the saffron alliance of the BJP and Shiv Sena, which is at the helm of the country's largest civic body.

Refuting the charge of Sena that MIM is "poisoning" the minds of Muslim and Dalit voters, party chief Asaduddin Owaisi alleged that the "real potent venom" has been spewed by Sena leaders by demanding that Indian Muslims should be deprived of their voting rights.

"They can continue with their pathological hatred for us. But what finally counts is what governance have they provided in the last six months in Maharashtra or 10 months in Delhi or the last many years in Aurangabad. That has been a great let down. The (Aurangabad) results show that this hatred against me or my party is not going to give them any political dividends anymore," Owaisi said.

The MIM made an impressive debut in Aurangabad, bagging 25 out of the total 113 seats in the municipal elections there. The Sena has not been able to digest the "humiliation" meted out by the BJP, he said, adding that the Uddhav Thackeray-led party is only taking out the frustration that it has with its ally on the MIM.

"They keep saying I want to hoist a Pakistani flag in Aurangabad. What right do they have to question my nationalism? If I continue to fight the RSS and Shiv Sena, does it make me an anti-Indian and pro-Pakistani? What kind of nationalism is this that if we politically oppose the Sena, RSS and the BJP, my nationalism is questioned immediately?" asked the 45-year-old MP from Hyderabad.

Exuding confidence after the Aurangabad polls, Owaisi said they would now contest more elections. "We are the only political party in Aurangabad which fought on the issues of drainage, water, roads, toilets, etc. Tell them to show what work have they done there in the last so many years?" he said.