"Undemocratic": Owaisi Criticises Centre's All-Party Meeting Criteria
New Delhi: AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Thursday appealed to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to extend invitations to all political parties for the upcoming all-party meeting. In the wake of the devastating terror attack in Pahalgam, which has claimed 26 lives, the Centre has decided to convene an all-party meeting on Thursday. However, the Centre in the meeting had limited the number of participants by stating that the parties with a minimum of five Members of Parliament in either Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha could attend the meeting.
Thus, the eligibility threshold had left many parties, including All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM). Owaisi in his post on X had sharply criticised the move to be ‘undemocratic’. “Regarding the Pahalgam All-Party Meeting, I spoke to Kiren Rijiju last night. He said they’re thinking of inviting only parties with ‘5 or 10 MPs’. When I asked why not parties with fewer MPs, he said that the meeting would get ‘too long’. When I asked, ‘What about us, the smaller parties?’ He joked that my voice is anyway too loud,” Mr Owaisi said in a statement.
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Regarding the Pahalgam All Party Meeting, I spoke to @KirenRijiju last night. He said they’re thinking of inviting only parties with “5 or 10 MPs.” When I asked why not parties with fewer MPs, he said that the meeting would get “too long.” When I asked “What about us, the smaller…
— Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) April 24, 2025
Criticising the Union Minister’s comment, Owaisi said that this is not BJP’s or another party’s internal meeting and further added that be it a party with one MP or 100, both are elected by Indians and thus deserve to be heard on such an important matter.
“Your own party does not have a majority. Whether it is a party with 1 MP or 100, they were both elected by Indians and deserve to be heard on such an important matter. This is not a political issue, it is a national issue. Everyone must be heard. I urge Narendra Modi to make this a real ALL-Party Meeting; every party with an MP in Parliament must be invited,” Mr Owaisi said.
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“This is not a BJP’s or another party’s internal meeting; it is an all-party meeting to send a strong and united message against terrorism and those countries that harbour terrorists,” he added.
The Centre is expected to brief all political parties on the terror attack and hear various views during the meeting. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Minister Amit Shah are expected to brief the leaders, official sources said. Mr Singh will chair the meeting.
