Congress demands Owaisi’s removal from Muslim Personal Law Board

Congress demands Owaisi’s removal from Muslim Personal Law Board

Hyderabad, October 15: Accusing MIM president Asaduddin Owaisi of creating divide among Muslims over the issue of Uniform Civil Code, the Congress party on Saturday demanded his removal as member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB).

"The AIMPLB has clearly stated that Muslims would not reply to the questionnaire released by the Law Commission on Uniform Civil Code. Instead of respecting the AIMPLB's decision, Owaisi took a different stance and announced that his party would reply to the questionnaire. By doing so, Asaduddin Owaisi made a deliberate attempt to divide the Muslim community. This is intolerable," said GHCC Minorities Department Chairman Shaik Abdullah Sohail.

Abdullah Sohail said that the Board took the right decision at the appropriate time. "By not participating in the Law Commission's so called survey, Muslims can send a strong and clear message that they are against the introduction of Uniform Civil Code in the country. Instead of following this simple logic, the MIM president wants to answer the questionnaire to give the advocates of Uniform Civil Code an opportunity to claim that the Law Commission consulted everyone one on the issue. Further, some self-proclaimed "intellectuals" and "reformists" would use this occasion to target Shariah Laws. We will not let this happen," he said.

The Congress leader demanded that AIMPLB remove Asaduddin Owaisi as its member since he went against the collective decision of the Board. "As a member of Muslim Personal Law Board, the MIM president should have accepted the boycott decision. One cannot have two different views on a subject, especially the one which involves Shariyat. Therefore, Asaduddin Owaisi himself should quit or the Board should cancel his membership," he demanded. Further, he also demanded that the Muslim Personal Law Board should not give membership to any politician as the issues they deal with are purely religious.

Abdullah Sohail also alleged that Asaduddin Owaisi was not authorised to speak on Shariah Law. He said although the MIM president was a Barrister, he was not a Mufti or Aalim to give views on Shariah Laws. Futher, he is not a practising lawyer. "Asaduddin Owaisi might have read some books on Shariah Law out of academic interest. But he is not a qualified Mufti and holds no authority to participate in discussions on national television channels on Shariah Laws. Getting elected from a Muslim dominated constituency or fluency in English does not make you eligible to comment on Shariah. This subject can be handled in a better manner by the Aalims and Muftis and not by politicians," he said.

The Congress leader reminded that the Asaduddin Owaisi's father and the then MIM president Salahuddin Owaisi created rift among Muslims by floating Babri Masjid Action Committee to supersede Babri Masjid Coordination Committee formed by a group of religious organisations and top leaders. Consequently, the division among Muslims led to the demolition of Babri Masjid in Ayodhya. He said Asaduddin Owaisi was emulating his father in dividing the Muslims and this might lead to imposition of Uniform Civil Code in the country. He advised all Muslims not to fall prey to the divisive tactics of Asaduddin Owaisi who is indirectly helping the BJP and Sangh Parivar. (eom)