Nitish cheated people of Bihar: Asaduddin Owaisi

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi today launched a blistering attack on Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, accusing him of having "cheated" the people of the state whose votes he had sought in the name of thwarting the BJP juggernaut.

"When we had fielded our candidates in the 2015 assembly polls, Nitish Kumar had called us vote katwa, implying that we were in the fray to cut into anti-BJP votes and, in turn, benefit the saffron party. But look what happened thereafter", Owaisi told reporters in this district in Bihar's north-eastern corner.

The All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief said Kumar asked the people of Bihar to vote for the Mahagathbandhan, claiming that only the Grand Alliance could pose a credible challenge to the BJP which at that time was appearing invincible.

"The people reposed their trust in him only to be cheated a few years later and watch him sitting in the lap of Prime Minister Narendra Modi", the Hyderabad MP said.

Kumar again became the chief minister after Grand Alliance comprising JD(U), RJD and the Congress, swept the assembly polls. He, however, walked out of the alliance last year following corruption cases against his then deputy Tejashwi Yadav.

Owaisi declared that his party will field its candidates in a number of constituencies in Bihar in the Lok Sabha polls next year.

About the ongoing controversy regarding Sharia courts, he said "people should understand that these courts do not amount to a parallel judicial system. For the last 25 years, Sharia courts have been functioning in a number of states in the country. Qazis dispense justice at these courts and an aggrieved party is always granted the right to appeal before a court of law".

To a query about the opposition RJD-Congress combine, Owaisi accused the two parties of having "cheated, for years" the people of Seemanchal - a region comprising four districts situated in Bihar's north-eastern region marked by economic backwardness and a high concentration of minorities' population.