Asaduddin Owaisi led AIMIM (All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen) has filed a counter affidavit before the Supreme Court opposing a PIL for cancelling the symbol and name allotted to political parties which are using religion in their name or carrying religious connotations in their symbol.
AIMIM claims that mere mention of the word, ‘Muslimeen’ in the party's name cannot amount to any specific appeal to the electorate on the ground of religion and it cannot be termed as violation of the principles of secularism.
"In absence of any specific appeal to the electorate on the ground of religion, the mere use of the name of particular religion as part of the name of Respondent 16 No. 3, ipso facto, cannot be termed as violation of the principles of secularism," the party said in an affidavit field through Advocate Abhishek Jebraj.
The reply states that the constitution of AIMIM does not mention or instruct its members to seek votes in the name of religion. Rather, its membership is open to all individuals irrespective of their caste, creed or religion and the main aim and objective of the 60-yr-old party is to protect the socio-cultural and religious ethos of minorities and other underprivileged sections in India, specifically Hyderabad and its surrounding areas.
The party claims that it is is willing to undertake other welfare measures also viz., promotion of education within the society etc. Whereas, it avers that the entire PIL is based on mere apprehension that AIMIMis “bound to violate” Representation of the People Act, 1951 or is “bound to indulge” in corrupt practices.
"Therefore, in light of the facts that, first, the Petitioner therein itself admits and concedes to the fact that Respondent No. 3 has not violated any provisions of ROPA and second, the Petitioner therein fails to mention any specific instance where Respondent No. 3 has violated the provisions of ROP."
The party further contends that the PIL is motivated and that the Petitioner, Syed Waseem Rizvi, failed to disclose his association with political parties. "The Petitioner is a former member of the Samajwadi Party (State Party in Uttar Pradesh) and had contested and won a corporation election in the year 2008 from the Kashmiri Mohalla ward in Lucknow...At present, as per reports available online, the Petitioner is known to be close to another political party in the State of Uttar Pradesh," it is submitted.
It is further averred that the petitioner is embroiled in numerous controversies and was recently in judicial custody in connection with multiple FIRs.
"While the entire petition is nothing more than a hate speech manifesto masquerading as Writ Petition, i.e., the language of the pleadings as well as the unverified facts stated therein seem more like an attempt to create a non-existing divide between two communities," the affidavit states.
