Done: arun
Hyderabad: AIMIM president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday indirectly took a swipe at Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi,even as he provided issue-based support to the Congress in Telangana.
Addressing a public meeting on the eve of the party’s 67th revival day at Darussalam, Owaisi said, “Where have the voters of these secular parties gone? They shifted to the Modi-led BJP. Stop believing these parties when they claim that voting for AIMIM will lead to BJP‘s victory.”
He also pointed out that despite their claims of “mohabbat (love) defeating nafrat (hatred),” secular parties have lost major states like Haryana, Maharashtra, and Delhi after the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Rahul had addressed an election rally ahead of the assembly elections in Delhi last month and said that mohabbat would defeat hate in the national capital.
Owaisi said that defeating the BJP was not the responsibility of Muslims alone but of all secular parties that genuinely stand for secularism. He criticised the narrative pushed by “so-called secular parties”, suggesting that voting for AIMIM would divide minority votes and benefit the BJP.
He urged people to strengthen their political force by supporting AIMIM. “Don’t think that voting for AIMIM will cause secular parties to lose, resulting in a BJP win. I warned about the BJP’s rise when Telangana was being formed, and today we see its impact.”
He also stressed the importance of a strong Muslim political force, noting the distinct political strength of the Old City of Hyderabad’s Hindus, Muslims, and Dalits compared to other areas. “In the Old City, these communities are citizens with rights, not just voters,” he said, urging support for AIMIM’s contests across Telangana and in upcoming elections, such as in Greater Hyderabad and Bihar.
Owaisi criticised Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath and PM Modi for fostering hatred against the country’s largest minority community. He highlighted issues like the waqf bill, destruction of places of worship, and the targeting of Urdu language, asserting that BJP’s Hindutva agenda was based on division.
In response to BJP’s claims about Mughal rulers and the destruction of temples, Owaisi pointed out that many Hindu kings had similarly desecrated temples and sacred sites. “What do we (Muslims) have to do with Mughals? We also rejected the two-nation theory of Mohammed Ali Jinnah and stayed back in India. We are not going anywhere,” he claimed.
He also questioned why BJP leaders, who profess admiration for figures like Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, were not providing reservations to Marathas, undermining their own rhetoric. “All those Muslims who leaned towards BJP under the slogan of development of Pasmanda Muslims can now see the Hindutva’s real face, as saffron party leaders are opposing inclusion of Muslims in the BC category in Telangana,” he said.
Referring to Adityanath’s comments on Urdu, Owaisi condemned the hate against the language, linking it to India’s freedom struggle. “Urdu is India’s language of independence. Abusing it is akin to abusing our history,” he said, challenging the UP CM’s stance.
He condemned the BJP and RSS for trying to impose a single language, religion, and ideology on the country. “They want a Bharat of one language, one religion, one ideology, and one leader,” he added.
Owaisi said he met Telangana CM A Revanth Reddy to push for the establishment of a Rs 200 crore educational hub on 13 acres of land in Falaknuma. “AIMIM is dedicated to the development of Muslims, Dalits, and the downtrodden. Let’s strengthen it further,” he urged.
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Slams Modi for silence on F-35 Deal
Asaduddin Owaisi charged PM Modi with remaining silent when US President Donald Trump unilaterally announced that the US would sell F-35 jets to India. “Who is Trump to decide what we need? We will decide whether we want F-35 or European fighter jets. Why did Modi keep quiet,” he said.
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