‘Bihar government can’t ignore minorities’

Hoping to build trust among people, particularly among the minorities in Bihar, All-India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaddudin Owaisi on Saturday claimed that he has been successful in laying a foundation of his party despite losing in the Assembly elections.

While congratulating the Nitish Kumar-led Grand Secular Alliance for the grand success in the elections, he urged the government to work for the development of dalits and minorities of the state. He said: “I hope the state government will not overlook the plight of minorities and dalits of the state as people will not tolerate that.”

Mr Owaisi was in minority-dominated Kishanganj, the heartland of Seemanchal, bordering West Bengal, to review the poll performance of his party. The AIMIM had fielded six candidates in Bihar’s Seemanchal districts for the Assembly elections and had held the Congress, Lalu Yadav’s RJD and Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) responsible for the plight of the minorities and dalits in the state.

The Grand Secular Alliance won 178 out of 243 seats in Bihar, which led Mr Kumar to form the government in Bihar. Though the BJP is silently watching the performance of the state government, a larger section within the NDA has started claiming that the Bihar government will not survive its full term.