All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi said on Saturday that his party is open to forming an alliance with either Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party or Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) if they are really interested in defeating the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh slated for early next year.
In an exclusive interview with India TV, the Lok Sabha member from Hyderabad constituency also hit out at the opposition for questioning AIMIM's decision to contest Uttar Pradesh elections, while reiterating that his party remains committed to stopping the saffron party.
"Why there is a problem if we contest the elections? We had proposed an alliance for the Bihar elections and demanded just six seats. However, they (opposition parties) were not ready. Even in Uttar Pradesh... if they want to defeat the BJP, then they should form an alliance. We are ready for an alliance. We need to defeat the BJP together," he said.
"If they are ready for an alliance, then we are ready to discuss the seat-sharing pact... During the Bihar elections, Akhilesh Yadav campaigned against us and tried to defeat our candidates. Everyone who consider themselves as secular, we are ready for an alliance," he added.
When asked by India TV about speculation over a possible alliance with the BSP and Chandrashekhar Azad's Aazad Samaj Party (ASP), Owaisi dismissed the rumours but said he was open to joining hands with anyone committed to defeating the BJP.
The Lok Sabha member said the BJP and its ideological mentor Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) does not want the Muslims to get educated. Responding to the bulldozer action against Azam Khan's Jauhar University, he said educating the Muslims would only help in realising the dream of 'Viksit Bharat'.
He further said the BJP wants to bring a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) to target the Muslims. When asked about the upcoming Monsoon Session of the Parliament, Owaisi said the BJP has always bills in haste.
On rebellion in Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC), Owaisi said the former West Bengal chief minister should be questioned how the crisis happened and why the leaders left the party after staying in power for 15 years. "They are liars. I had warned that they would lose (the West Bengal elections), but they ignored it," he told India TV.
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