"Would be suffocating...": Asaduddin Owaisi on INDIA alliance

New Delhi [India], September 18 : All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) President Asaduddin Owaisi said that he does not "care" about the INDIA alliance as it would be "suffocating" to be a part of it.
"...We are not in the INDIA Alliance and I don't care about it... It would be suffocating there," the AIMIM president said at a book launch event in the national capital.
Hitting out at the opposition alliance for not standing up against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on their ideology, Owaisi said, "Why are they not standing up against the BJP on their ideology...They told that if they give us a ticket, they won't get a Hindu vote...I am saying this in the open, they say this behind closed doors."
Owaisi further claimed that Congress MP Rahul Gandhi won in Wayanad because the Muslim League, the party's ally in Kerala, saved him from "drowning".
"Why did Rahul Gandhi lose in Amethi but won in Wayanad. Asaduddin Owaisi did not contest elections there. I did not have any deal with the BJP there. He won from Wayanad because there is the Muslim League there. Muslim League saved him from drowning..."
Earlier this year, Rahul Gandhi came under fire from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for saying that Muslim League is a "completely secular party".
"Muslim League is a completely secular party, there is nothing non-secular about them. I think the person (reporter) hasn't studied the Muslim League," Rahul Gandhi had said.
Speaking at the book launch event, the AIMIM president said, "My orientation does not accept that Muslims should not contest elections. I think Muslims should participate in elections at every stage. You won't win until you fight. Even if you lose, standing up in elections is necessary."
"You will never win if you don't contest elections fearing defeat. You need to lose twice or thrice before you win. Even if you lose, the votes you will win will prove your strength," he added.