Elections are around the corner in Telangana with a Moral Code of Conduct in place, a new political spectrum has opened up with politics getting played out around the Palestine-Israel issue.
On Monday, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) Chief Asaduddin Owaisi held a protest in Darussalam against the atrocities of Israel faced by the people in Gaza & Palestine amidst the ongoing war, which has entered the 17th day between Hamas and Israel.
Palestine 🇵🇸 #IndiaWithPalestine #Palestine #India #FreePalestine #PalestineWillBeFree pic.twitter.com/SB9qi45BiO
— Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) October 23, 2023
Gaza ki awam Zindabad!
The rally was attended by members of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) and several other Muslim scholars. The people present in the meeting were seen holding flags of Palestine, including banners and placards which stated, “I stand with Palestine”, “Save Palestine”, “Israel is genocidal cancer” and many more.
Though Owaisi has earlier also come in support of Palestine since the first day of the war, when Hamas fired rockets into Israel territory on October 7, this issue is now looked at more as a political opportunity to garner votes in Telangana that is going to polls from October 30.
It is not the first time that he has supported Palestine, earlier he reacted to the ongoing war between the Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israel, saying India historically stood with Palestine. He claimed the shift in India’s policy (towards the Palestinian cause) came when the Congress came into power.
“A late BJP leader once said about Palestine that land worth billions has been acquired. We had released a post stamp for solidarity with Palestine. This shifted when Congress came into power,” he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Earlier at a public meeting he condemned the World for being silent on Palestine’s cause and alleged that the media is reporting in a biased manner, from one side. Innocents are being killed in Gaza and that, it is Israel that has occupied the Palestinian territory for 70 years, he stated.
Masjid-e-Aqsa Zindabad, Bait-ul-Muqaddas Zindabad, Gaza ki awam Zindabad, Palestine Zindabad 🇮🇳 🇵🇸#AIMIM #Asaduddinowaisi #AlAqsa #gaza #Palestinezindabad #IndiaWithPalestine #PalestineWillBeFree pic.twitter.com/GRpCt35pTg
— AIMIM (@aimim_national) October 24, 2023
India on Sunday had sent more than 38 tonnes of relief materials including medicines and medical equipment to the people of Palestine, amid mounting global concerns over the plight of civilians living in Gaza.
At the public meeting held on Monday, Asaduddin Owaisi made an earnest plea to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to establish a humanitarian passage in Gaza and facilitate a cessation of hostilities.
"We appeal to PM Modi that a humanitarian corridor should be opened in Gaza... Now that we have the G20 presidency we appeal and demand from PM Modi that we should condemn this act and open a humanitarian corridor so that the people of Gaza can get humanitarian relief..."
He also urged Modi, in his capacity as the leader of the G20, to take decisive measures to protect the lives of Palestinians.
He observed that 50,000 women are pregnant in Gaza and that electricity, oxygen, and other essential items are not available in hospitals.
The "attack" in Gaza should be condemned, he said. What Israel is doing in Gaza is "genocide", he claimed.
The protest public meeting condemned the alleged attempt of some state governments in India to discourage or criminalize demonstrations by the Indian people against the “shocking Israeli crimes in the Gaza Strip including attacks on hospitals, schools, churches, and mosques”. On Monday, in a parallel development.
The public meeting passed several resolutions, including supporting the struggle of the Palestinian people to end the occupation of their lands.
Another resolution said Israel must adhere to international law and UN resolutions, besides honoring the Oslo Accords of 1992-93.
Israel must end its occupation of the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, Jerusalem, and all territories prior to its occupation in 1967. Israel must not prevent the formation of a free and sovereign Palestinian state any longer, the resolution said.
India must continue to honor the legacy of support to the people of Palestine, a separate resolution said.
#WATCH | AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi says, "We appeal to PM Modi that a humanitarian corridor should be opened in Gaza…Now that we have the G20 presidency we appeal and demand from PM Modi that we should condemn this act and open a humanitarian corridor so that the people of… pic.twitter.com/zlJwU2pQ9S
— ANI (@ANI) October 23, 2023
“We call upon the government of India to remember what Mahatma Gandhi said, “Palestine belongs to the Palestinians just as England belongs to the English and France to the French. India has always stood and acted in solidarity with victims of apartheid and colonialism, whether in South Africa, Indonesia, or Palestine. It must not forsake this history,” it said.
The public meeting condemns any use of violence to achieve political goals and mourns the loss of innocent lives, a separate resolution said.
