Muslims must get Rs 7,000 crore in BMC budget: Asaduddin Owaisi

MUMBAI: MIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi kicked off his party's campaign for BMC polls at a public meeting at Nagpada junction on Sunday.
Owaisi attacked the Congress-NCP and BJP-Sena governments for meting out “injustice“ to Muslims. The party plans to field candidates for the BMC elections for the first time. “MIM will field candidates mostly in Muslim pockets like Madanpura, Bhendi Bazar, Jogeshwari, Santacruz, Bandra and Govandi.The party can unsettle the SP that has 9 corporators and also damage the prospects of the Congress-NCP combine,“ said a source.
“Muslims comprise 21% population in the Mumbai metropolitan region. In the Rs 37,000 crore BMC budget, the share of Muslims should be Rs 7,770 crore. Elect at least 20 to 25 members of MIM in the BMC and we will get the fair share for Muslim wards,“ Owaisi said.
He also criticized the state government's plan to construct the Shivaji memorial.
“We are not against the memorial but Shivaji himself would have not approved of this squandering taxpayers' money ,“ he said. Owaisi also slammed the Sena-BJP combine in the BMC and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for projecting Shivaji as a “Hindu warrior who fought Muslim Mughals“.
“Mr Prime Minister, why didn't you mention the Mus lim Madari Mehtar who helped Shivaji escape from the Agra fort whi le you were praising Shivaji at the ceremony in Mumbai,“ he said.
Owaisi also attacked the Centre's demonetisation move and took potshots at Modi's “propensity to boast“.
Owaisi slammed the Samajwadi Party. “The cycle (SP's symbol) cannot move any further. The father is disqualifying the son who is rebelling against the father. It is complete chaos,“ he said.