Bharat Mata ki Jai row: Why AIMIM MLAs cut a lonely figure in the Assembly

 
Imtiyaz Jaleel (Left) and Waris Pathan (Right)

Imtiyaz Jaleel and Waris Pathan were a lonely duo on the floor of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, with the BJP-Shiv Sena as well as the Congress-NCP isolating the AIMIM legislators.

The Congress-NCP is critical of the AIMIM as it lost the support of a section of the Muslim community to the party.

On the other hand, the BJP-Shiv Sena, which actually benefited from the division of votes, views the AIMIM as an ideological opponent.

Meanwhile, the AIMIM, which rode high on the back of increasing political assertion by the Muslim youth, is now facing a reality check. It has started facing questions from young Muslims who are getting disillusioned.

“Tell me of one agitation or one issue that the AIMIM has raised in the Maharashtra Assembly in the last 18 months that can positively affect the lives of Muslims in this state. They had such a good platform. I would not want them to disappear, but I feel that the party has now reached its potential and stagnated,” said Mohammed Irfan, a resident of Byculla.

The entry of the AIMIM in the 2014 Assembly elections forced a rethink in the Congress and the NCP on how they viewed Muslims and the issues of the community. The AIMIM fed off the growing feeling of political disempowerment among the Muslim community.

Till 1985, Muslims were elected from rural and mixed-population areas such as Shrivardhan, Ratnagiri, Amalner, Ramtek, Kamptee, Jalna, Khed, Basmath, Akole, Akkalkot, Parbhani, Beed, Omerga, Partur, Pathri and, in one instance, Bhavani Peth in Pune.

However, since 1990, records show that it was more likely for a Muslim candidate to be assured of a victory only when he contested from a Muslim-dominated constituency. Of the nine Muslim MLAs elected in 2014, eight won from Muslim-dominated constituencies. The only exception was the NCP’s Hasan Mushrif, who won from Kagal in Western Maharashtra.

The fear that the presence of a Muslim candidate would polarise the constituency, leading to consolidation of non-Muslim votes, meant that only 45 Muslim candidates were fielded by the five main political parties in the 2014 Assembly elections.

Not saying a slogan is part of freedom of expression: Asaduddin Owaisi

AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Wednesday said that his party's MLA Waris Pathan's suspension from Maharashtra Assembly will set a wrong precedent, and it was the first time in the history of India that a person was suspended for not saying a slogan.

"This is for the first time in the history of Indian democracy that an elected member has been suspended for not raising a slogan. Parliament and Assemblies are a forum for debates where sloganeering is not allowed," Owaisi said.

While the Speaker has discretionary powers, a member can only be suspended if he uses unparliamentary language or indulges in unparliamentary behaviour, he said.

"When the Prime Minister says he only follows the Constitution, where in the Constitution it is written that an elected member will be suspended if he does not shout a slogan?" he said.

While the Speaker has discretionary powers, a member can only be suspended if he uses unparliamentary language or indulges in unparliamentary behaviour, he said.

"Here a member is being forced to say something which the Constitution allows him not to say. That is his freedom of expression," he said, adding no law is violated if a slogan is not raised.
"We are heading into an age of darkness. By supporting the suspension motion, Congress and NCP, who call themselves secular, have been completely exposed," he said.

AIMIM MLA Waris Pathan was on Wednesday suspended from the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly for the remaining duration of the ongoing budget session after he said during a debate that he would not say `Bharat Mata Ki Jai'.

Minister of State for Home Ranjit Patil tabled a resolution seeking suspension of Pathan, which was passed unanimously.