Owaisi challenges Rahul to fight AIMIM for Hyderabad seat; Congress counters

Hyderabad: All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen president Asaduddin Owaisi challenged the ‘pop idol’ of Congress, Rahul Gandhi, to contest from the Hyderabad constituency against him, instead of Wayanad in the upcoming elections.

The Hyderabad MP said, “I will ask your (Congress) leader not to contest from Wayanad but from Hyderabad this time,” he said while addressing a public meeting at Darussalam to celebrate the birthday of Prophet Muhammad. “You (Rahul) are giving high-flown speeches. Come to the ground and fight with this person wearing sherwani and topi,” he challenged Rahul Gandhi.

He said that the ‘communal riots in the land of Hyderabad were the gift from Congress.’ “It was during the Congress rule that the Babri Masjid was demolished. Likewise, a masjid was demolished here too during the construction of the secretariat. However, the masjid was rebuilt but Babri Masjid is yet to be rebuilt.”

‘BJP, Congress, SP, and RJD are against Muslims and OBCs’

While taking a shot at other parties over the Women’s Reservation Bill, Owaisi said the BJP, Congress, SP, and RJD are against Muslims and Other Backward Classes (OBCs).

Clarifying his stand on voting against the Women’s Reservation Bill in the Lok Sabha, he said, “We are not against women. We are advocating for the due share of women belonging to minorities and OBCs.” He said that these parties are scared of taking the names of Muslims in the Parliament.

While commenting on the incident of a BJP MP insulting a Muslim MP in the Parliament House, Owaisi said, “The day will come when a Muslim will be lynched in India’s Parliament. This is not far as during Hitler’s era, it was Jews who were a threat to Germany, and now the word ‘Jews’ has been replaced with ‘Muslims’.”

“When an MP targets his fellow members with communal slurs, the BJP merely issues a notice. BJP will observe bandh and set on fire the house of any person who will direct such slurs towards Modi,” he added.

Speaking about RPF constable Chetan Singh who killed four people in a moving train in Maharashtra, Owaisi said, “It is a message to people like Chetan that the bullets will eventually run out, but we will accept death rather than bowing down before your atrocities and humiliations.”

Owaisi also described chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao as ‘mamoon (maternal uncle)’, and asked the youth to vote for him where Majlis is not contesting.

Congress asks Owaisi to follow his own advice

Sharp reactions emerged from various political sections after Owaisi challenged Rahul to contest from Hyderabad. Former president of All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat, Navaid Hamid tweeted, “If @asadowaisi sb is so sure abt the wisdom of Hyd voters if RG accepts his challenge to fight frm his bastion than it's interesting that he hd spared Modi/Shah frm embrassment by not throwing challenge to them. Difficult to accept his strategy to save democracy. (sic)”

Countering Owaisi’s challenge, many leaders asked him to contest from a constituency where Muslim voters are less.

Chamalla Kiran Kumar, of the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) media cell said that Owaisi is just ‘following orders from Delhi’. “If you are really secular, why don’t you go to any other state and contest from that Parliamentary seat? Rahul Gandhi has already contested from Uttar Pradesh and Kerala,” Kumar said.

Kumar added, “The Muslim brothers and sisters of the country have understood that you always talk and act on behalf of the BJP and BRS. You are surviving politically with the blessings of ruling governments.”