Hyderabad, Sep 2 (PTI) Gearing up for the UP assembly elections next year, AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Thursday announced a three-day visit to the state next week which begins from Faizabad district.
He said he would visit Faizabad district on September 7, Sultanpur on September 8 and Barabanki on September 9.
"This is just the beginning. We will go to many places in UP. What is wrong? Elections are approaching. Party needs to be strengthened. We have to meet people. We have to go near people. We have to strengthen our cadre and make our candidates elected in the UP assembly elections. And, defeat Yogi (Adityanath) government," he told reporters here.
Owaisi has been making efforts to expand the party across the country and he has had reasonable success in Maharashtra and Bihar. However, the party could not make gains in West Bengal.
Talking about the Afghan issue, Owaisi, Lok Sabha member from Hyderabad, said the NDA government should say whether it considered Taliban as a terrorist organisation or not.
Did the government in their recent meeting with Taliban representatives make it clear that Jaish-e-Mohammed is active in Helmand province in Afghanistan and that a camp of LeT is active in Khost (Afghanistan), he said.
"The most basic thing. Modi government say this to the country. Taliban is terrorist or not. If they are terrorists, will it include Taliban in UAPA terror list. Will it add Haqqanis or not?" "Because, if a Muslim sells vegetables, he is called Talibani. BJP people, on TV channels, say their political opponents, whether Muslim or not, have Talibani mindset," he alleged.
India is chairman of UN Sanctions Committee, he pointed out.
"We are asking the Modi government. Say this clearly. Do you consider Taliban as terrorist organisation or not? If you don't, India is chairman of UN Sanction Committee, will you delist the top 100 leaders of Taliban, Haqqani leaders? If you don't, will you include them in UAPA terror list?," he said.
