Waris Pathan
Pathan during an interview
National Spokesperson of All India Majlis e Ittehadul Muslimeen
Assumed office
25 October 2019
Preceded byAsaduddin Owaisi
Member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly
In office
16 October 2014 – 24 October 2019
Preceded byMadhukar Chavan, INC
Succeeded byYamini Yashwant Jadhav, Shiv Sena
ConstituencyByculla
Floor leader of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen in Maharashtra Legislative Assembly
In office
16 October 2014 – 24 October 2019
Preceded byPosition Established
Succeeded byMohammed Ismail Abdul Khalique
Personal details
Born (1968-11-29) 29 November 1968
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Political partyAll India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen
Children2
OccupationPolitician
ProfessionLawyer

Waris Pathan (born 29 November 1968) is an Indian politician and lawyer.[1] He is the national spokesperson of the political party All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM). He previously served as an MLA for the AIMIM in Byculla, Mumbai.[2]

As a legal advocate, Pathan's clients have included one of the accused in the 1993 Bombay bombings, and the actor Salman Khan in a hit-and-run case.[3]

Personal life

Pathan was born in Bandra, Mumbai on 29 November 1968 to Yusuf Pathan.[4] Pathan has vitiligo, an autoimmune disease which causes white patches on the skin.[5]

Pathan joined the legal profession in August 1991. He was the first lawyer to get a TADA accused bail out on interim bail on medical grounds. The Supreme Court of India has upheld the bail order in favour of the accused (Abdul Hamid Birya v/s state).[6]

Political career

In 2014 Pathan was elected Member of the Legislative Assembly on an All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) ticket from Mumbai's Byculla assembly constituency.[7][8][9]

On 16 March 2016, Pathan was unanimously suspended from the Maharashtra Assembly on charges of disrespecting the country and anti-nationalism for refusing to chant the slogan Bharat Mata Ki Jai (Victory for Mother India) when asked to do so in the assembly by Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Ram Kadam. He later said, "I love my country. I was born here and I will die here. I can never dream of insulting my country. Don’t judge anyone's love for the country by just one slogan. Jai Hind, Jai Bharat, Jai Maharashtra (Victory to India, Victory to Maharashtra)".[10][11]

He contested the 2019 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly election from Byculla, but was defeated by Yamini Yashwant Jadhav of Shiv Sena.

In January 2020, Pathan was appointed as the national spokesperson of AIMIM.[12]

Controversy

On 19 February 2020, during a rally against the Citizenship Amendment Act, Pathan said, "Remember we are 15 crore but can dominate over 100 crore."[13] He was criticised for his comment. After this incident an FIR was filed against him.[14] In his defence, Pathan said the "100" in his statement was not in reference to the 100 crore Hindus in India, as the media and BJP had suggested, but to those "100 people" who are engaging in anti-Muslim politics.[15] AIMIM Maharashtra unit chief Imtiyaz Jaleel said that the party will seek an explanation from Pathan over his remark.[16]

References

  1. ↑ "Byculla MLA: Waris Pathan". I am in DNA of India. Archived from the original on 14 December 2014. Retrieved 13 December 2014.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. ↑ "All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen". AIMIM. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
  3. ↑ Kamath, Naresh (18 March 2016). "Waris Pathan: The accidental politician". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  4. ↑ "Waris Y. Pathan Defence Counsel Advocate". Retrieved 13 December 2014.
  5. ↑ "Shining in Political Arena - 7 Famous Politicians with Vitiligo". Unite For Vitiligo. 24 November 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  6. ↑ "Waris Y. Pathan Advocate - High Court". Retrieved 13 December 2014.
  7. ↑ "ADVOCATE WARIS YUSUF PATHAN (Winner)". My Neta. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
  8. ↑ "Byculla MIM Candidate Waris pathan wins. MIM has officially entered Maharashtra". AIMIM. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
  9. ↑ "AIMIM's Waris Yousuf Pathan wins Byculla assembly constituency in Maharashtra's Assembly Elections 2014 Results". NewsWala.com. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
  10. ↑ Deshpande, Alok (16 March 2016). "MLA won't chant 'Bharat Mata ki Jai', suspended". The Hindu. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  11. ↑ "Maharashtra MIM MLA refuses to say 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' in Assembly, suspended". News18. 16 March 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  12. ↑ "Waris Pathan named AIMIM national spokesman". Deccan Chronicle. 3 January 2020. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
  13. ↑ "Waris Pathan: 15 crore people can dominate 100 crore, says AIMIM's Waris Pathan | India News - Times of India". The Times of India. 20 February 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  14. ↑ Dwarakanath, Nagarjun (22 February 2020). "FIR against AIMIM leader Waris Pathan over '15 crore Muslims...' remark". India Today. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  15. ↑ "As Bluster Blows Up, AIMIM's Waris Pathan Dials Back on '15 Crore vs 100' Rhetoric". The Wire. 22 February 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  16. ↑ PTI (22 February 2020). "AIMIM To Seek Explanation From Waris Pathan Over "15 Crore Muslim" Remark". NDTV.com. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
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