Shifaur Rehman, an AIMIM candidate from Okhla who was granted custody parole ahead of the Delhi elections, arrived at his residence in Ghaffar Manzil on Thursday early morning. Rehman is an accused in the Delhi riots case.
Several national media journalists were present at his home. After spending a few minutes there, he proceeded to his office in Abul Fazal Enclave, where he addressed the gathering and reporters.
A Jamia Millia Islamia alumnus, Shifaur Rehman is contesting the Okhla seat on an AIMIM ticket, facing off against sitting AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan, BJP’s Manish Choudhry, Congress’s Ariba Khan, and other candidates from smaller parties. Election is on February 5 and counting on February 8.
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While addressing the gathering, Shifaur Rehman said: “If your prayers hadn’t been with me, I wouldn’t have been able to survive these five years. I am deeply grateful to you for praying for me day and night. It is because of those prayers that I’ve made it through these five years without even realising how much time has passed.”
He said: “I didn’t worry about my ill mother, but for you all, I spent these five years like this.”
He said: “Never be afraid, never be weak, because Shifaur Rehman was never weak.”
Rehman continued: “Your love and support are what I need. Winning or losing happens, but it’s not about winning or losing. It’s about proving ourselves — proving that we want our self-respect, our dignity. We won’t bow before anyone. We won’t be scared by some creating BJP’s fearmongering. Our issues are never discussed.”
“Our issues are: water, jobs, schools, hospitals. What about the hospitals opened in Okhla? I haven’t just come for Okhla; I’ve spent five years not only for Okhla but for the last 30 years as well. There were no roads then, no water, and yet we survived. We fought for roads, water, and electricity. Our fight is for all issues, for the Muslims of the entire country.”
“We should never think that we need comfort only in Okhla. Everyone in Okhla is from outside — Bihar, UP, Bengal, and other states. What everyone wants is respect. What we’re not getting is respect, and we will demand that respect. We will demand that respect through the rights granted to us by the Constitution. We will fight every battle using the rights given to us.”
“We will not let the Constitution, created by Baba Saheb Ambedkar, be crushed. We will fight for it, even if it costs us our lives. The fight is not just for Okhla; it is a fight for dignity, for self-respect.”
“I won’t take much of your time. We will keep talking for the next five days. I’ll keep coming to you, and inshallah, there will be more discussions. We will raise our voices for the issues that matter.”
After he finished his speech, residents cheered: “Long live, long live! Shifa bhai.”
Another speaker, standing close to Shifaur Rehman, stepped in and said: “Shifa is one of our very old companions from Jamia. He has faced a lot in the last five years. His children have been alone, and now you all need to stand by him. Everyone needs to unite. This is not just Shifa…fight; it’s everyone’s fight.”
“I trust that you will understand from your hearts how much Shifa must have gone through in the last five years. He stood with us during the CAA and NRC protests. Thank you all for your support. I don’t want to say much more, but thank you all very much.”
