'Match-fixing' behind minority remark showdown: Tehseen Poonawalla slams Rijiju–Owaisi ahead of Bihar polls

Pune, July 8 (IANS) Political analyst Tehseen Poonawalla on Tuesday accused Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju and AIMIM’s Asaduddin Owaisi of orchestrating a “match-fixing” exercise -- aligned to polarise voters ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections.

The fiery exchange began on Monday when Owaisi hit back at Rijiju’s claim that minorities in India enjoy greater benefits than the majority.

Owaisi dismissed it as “rights, not charity,” lambasting Rijiju as “Minister Against Minorities” and declaring that “Indian Muslims are no longer citizens… but hostages.”

Speaking to IANS, Tehseen Poonawalla said the timing and tenor of the war of words suggest coordination, not coincidence.

“There is ‘match-fixing.’ This whole issue seems like 'match-fixing' between the BJP and Owaisi, and its purpose is only to polarise the Bihar elections,” he told IANS.

He pointed out that the BJP, with Hindu leadership at the Prime Minister’s Office, Ministries and chief ministerships, has been in power for 11 years.

“If Hindu society is getting less rights. Then who’s responsible? If Rijiju has so much information, why hasn’t he explained this to Prime Minister Modi?”

The analyst slammed Owaisi's inclination to dwell on poll issues related to Bihar from Hyderabad to exacerbate communal fault-lines.

“Owaisi’s children will study abroad, BJP leaders will buy houses in Dubai, but common Hindus and Muslims will keep fighting among themselves in the name of religion. Neither education, nor health, nor employment is being talked about," he stated.

“Only Hindu-Muslim politics is on. If Hindus are in danger, why don’t BJP leaders’ children take to the streets in protest? And if Muslims are in danger, why don’t Owaisi’s children do that?”

Poonawalla added: “The real problem is unemployment, lack of education, and poor health services — not religion.”

Responding to the alleged misconduct by Raheel Shaikh, son of MNS leader Javed Shaikh — who reportedly got into a verbal spat with a Marathi woman influencer after ramming her car while drunk — Poonawalla castigated the perpetrator and his political masters.

“The condition in which Raheel was found — in a drunken and shirtless state — the Mumbai Police should have tied a leash around his neck and made him walk on the road. Whether the woman was Marathi or not, no woman should be insulted or molested. That cannot be tolerated,” he said.

He further criticised the MNS as “cheap goons” indulging in threats, harassment, and violence — enabled by “Raj Sahab’s poisonous speeches.”

Until Raj Thackeray and his party workers face legal consequences, Poonawalla warned, “such intoxicated and spoiled people will continue these acts.”

On Tejashwi Yadav, Leader of Opposition in Bihar Assembly, objecting to a special voter revision drive, Poonawalla agreed, calling it ill-timed: “The last time it was carried out was in 2003 — one year before the Lok Sabha elections and two years before the Bihar polls.”

He raised concerns about practicality, noting large numbers of migrant workers from Bihar in other states who could struggle to provide 11 documents required for voter identity.

“When my voter card was made in Pune, I gave only Aadhaar. Tejashwi Yadav’s wife’s Aadhaar was accepted too. Why exclude it now?” Poonawalla questioned.

He questioned the Election Commission’s inconsistency: Aadhaar is mandated by law, yet it is being rejected under the commission’s schemes.

“Why is it linked to bank accounts, phone numbers, yet excluded from voter verification?”

He also condemned the sudden drive as a rushed, ad-driven campaign lacking transparent government orders. He called upon the Election Commission to fulfill its constitutional duty and explain why Bihar deserves special revision now, when elections are months away.

Poonawalla summed up: “This isn’t about defending rights or addressing inequalities —it’s about churning up communal fault-lines just before a major state election. The real issues — jobs, health, education — are being ignored.”

He called on both political leaders and independent institutions like the Election Commission to prioritise governance over games of polarisation.

--IANS

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