Guwahati, April 3 AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi on Friday alleged that both the BJP and Congress are two sides of the same coin, as neither of the parties wants a strong Muslim leadership in Assam.
Addressing election rallies for the AIUDF candidates in Goalpara and Dhubri, the Hyderabad MP said that both parties are responsible for the suffering of the Muslims, and it is important to have a strong leadership of the minority community in the state.
"I have come to Assam to strengthen Muslim leadership in the state and to ensure that the lives of Muslims improve so that they can lead a dignified life," he said.
Owaisi accused BJP leader and Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma of practicing "politics of hate" and provoking violence in the state.
"Sarma is the chief minister, but why does he hate a particular community so much? He should remember that he is the CM of all, whether they vote for him or not," the AIMIM chief said.
He alleged that more than 3,000 families have been evicted in the state by the BJP government in an "illegal and unconstitutional manner."
The BJP government launched eviction drives in Assam a few years ago, and the Himanta Biswa Sarma administration intensified them, stating that it is clearing encroached government, forest, and wetland areas to protect the land of indigenous communities. The affected population are mostly Bengali-speaking Muslims.
"These families who were living in those lands were affected by river erosion. This is an example of hate politics against the Muslim community," the Hyderabad MP said.
He further alleged that the Muslims who are Indian citizens are being "thrown back" to Bangladesh or are being threatened to be sent back to the neighbouring country.
"The Congress is no better as it had started the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the state, set up detention centres, Foreigners' Tribunals and had taken steps that had made the lives of Muslims very difficult," he said.
Owaisi claimed that he had not come to ask for votes, but it is the "suffering of the Muslims who were evicted from their homes and land that brought him to Assam."
Owaisi claimed this suffering can stop only if AIUDF candidates are elected, and Muslims cast their ballots in their favour.
The AIMIM has not fielded any candidate in the Assam assembly elections and is supporting the AIUDF.
In Assam, no party can form the government without the support of Badruddin Ajmal's AIUDF, he claimed.
Ajmal has promised the landless people that they will be provided with land leases and will ensure no eviction will take place without following due process, the AIMIM leader said.
Owaisi was on a two-day visit to Assam to campaign for AIUDF candidates.
Elections to Assam's 126 assembly constituencies will be held on April 9, and votes will be counted on May 4.