Firebrand national president of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) Asaduddin Owaisi in an exclusive interview with TOI says political parties in UP don’t want to take responsibility for the prevailing condition of Muslims:Latest charge against you is that BJP is in govt in UP and AIMIM cannot oust it by targeting SP, Cong?One cannot see the marginalisation and political disempowerment of Muslim community in isolation. People who are blaming AIMIM do not know the UP’s history. Starting from GB Pant down to Yogi Adityanath, irrespective of the party and the chief minister, no one was interested in ensuring that Muslims were treated as citizen with rights. They have been reduced to mere voters. Even at the time of Pt Jawaharlal Nehru, the fatalities of Muslims were on the higher side during communal riots. So questions will have to be asked, no matter how uncomfortable it makes some politicians.All parties, including BJP, have been in govt in UP, you mostly point fingers at SP and Cong only. Why?How can one not talk about what happened during the Eid namaz in Moradabad? It was worse than Jallianwala Bagh. Can one conveniently forget what happened in Hashimpura and Maliana? Can one forget Muzaffarnagar (riots)? When Muzaffarnagar happened, there were 47 Muslim MLAs in SP and a Muslim seniormost minister was in charge of that area but still we saw highest number of people being displaced after Partition. If one wants to forget and not talk about all these things, then that is not done.We rightfully criticize Yogi Adityanath for withdrawing cases against himself. At the same time, It is also true that Akhilesh Yadav had a file of cases (against Yogi Adityanath) lying before him collecting dust. Had he given his consent as CM, cases would have been lodged in his tenure. He didn’t do that. Then why should one cry about the CM (Yogi Adityanath) withdrawing cases against himself. This is ‘Ram and Shyam’ play unfolding.Political rivals claim you don’t attack BJP because your focus area is Muslim votes who, as it is, do not constitute BJP’s traditional vote bank?No. BJP has to be attacked and exposed for what it has done. I have never shied away from criticising BJP for atrocities. I was the first one to attack BJP when Atiq Ahmed and his brother were killed in judicial custody. I have vociferously condemned fake encounters. A wrong is a wrong, irrespective of which party committed it. BJP follows Hindutva ideology and has been ruling UP for last 11 years. How have they won five elections since 2014? Even if I accept the charge that AIMIM ends up helping BJP, these political parties (SP and Congress) and their allies contested 400 assembly seats in these elections, the responsibility of defeating the BJP rests on whom?But SP and Cong claim they stand for Muslims?Here is a reality check. I was in Kanpur on Sunday. I am the only politician who has criticised the demolition of Muslim graveyard in Barra locality at 5 am. Samajwadi Party’s sitting MLA is a mute spectator. I have given data of how at the age of 15 highest number of illiterates are from Muslim community. So, one will have to ask what SP did when it was in govt. My question is that should one be made to pick and choose?Why do you think most of the political parties accuse AIMIM of helping BJP?The reason why they (political parties) target me personally and AIMIM as a whole, is because they don’t want any semblance of political agency of Muslims. They are willing to accept, tolerate and even promote every other political agency of different caste and religion but the Muslim community. They feel that Muslims are their jagir andthat they should never have a political agency. They don’t want to accept Muslim as citizens with rights. They have being saying this for the last 70 years that they have been fighting the battle for Muslims. What is the condition of Muslims today?The allegation is that AIMIM does not question the BSP as much as the SP and Cong.When I hold every govt and chief minister right from GB Pant down to Yogi Adityanath answerable for issues plaguing UP, does that leave out any party or CM?General perception is that your campaign and speeches heavily rest on politics of polarisation which eventually benefits the BJP…I will love to debate this charge. How has Narendra Modi been sworn in as the prime minister thrice.? Is it because of me? Rahul Gandhi lost Amethi in 2019 elections. Was it because of my speeches? These so-called secular parties have failed to stop BJP’s victory march. How do you explain polarisation when you lose Maharashtra assembly elections, and when you lose Madhya Pradesh assembly polls?Is the AIMIM approaching UP polls differently than it did in Bihar polls?AIMIM has been outside the INDIA bloc but we were open to alliance in Bihar and the same goes for UP assembly polls. I have said it earlier and repeat it again. To keep the BJP away from forming the govt for the third consecutive time, we are open to alliance with like-minded parties. But our initiative should not be seen as a sign of weakness. We have contested election after election irrespective of whether we had an alliance or not and will continue to do so, irrespective of the resistance from parties which treat Muslims are their Jagir of votes.Let me clarify about Bihar. There we made the first move at the behest of some Muslim intellectuals. We sent letters to RJD, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, responsible people in CPI & CPI-ML. A letter was delivered to RJD’s Tejashvi Yadav after he told media that he hasn’t got the letter. All of this is in public domain. But they never talked alliance.