‘BJP intends to create hatred’: AIMIM’s Owaisi responds to Tejasvi Surya’s attack

A war of words has erupted between the BJP and the Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM ahead of the December 1 Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) polls.

A war of words has broken out between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) ahead of the elections to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC). AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi responded to BJP lawmaker Tejasvi Surya’s attack on him, remarking that the BJP’s intention “was to create hatred.”

Patna, India - Oct. 30, 2020 - All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi addressing the audience during an election rally during Bihar Assembly Elections, at Cheriya Bariyarpur, in Begusarai, Bihar, India, on Friday, October 30, 2020. (Photo by Santosh Kumar/ Hindustan Times)

“If there are 30,000 Rohingyas in the electoral list, what is home minister Amit Shah doing? Is he sleeping? Isn’t this his job to see how 30,000-40,000 Rohingyas are listed? If the BJP is honest, it should show 1,000 such names by tomorrow,” news agency ANI quoted Owaisi as saying on Monday.

“Their intention is to create hatred. This fight is between Hyderabad and Bhagyanagar. It is now your responsibility to decide who will win,” the Lok Sabha MP from Hyderabad was further quoted as saying at a rally.

 

Owaisi’s response came after Surya, also the BJP’s youth wing chief, attacked him earlier in the day, saying that every vote for the AIMIM chief means “a vote against India.” Tejasvi Surya also compared him with Pakistan’s founder Mohammed Ali Jinnah. “Owaisi speaks the language of rabid Islamism, separatism and extremism which Jinnah was also speaking. Owaisi and his brother haven’t allowed development in old Hyderabad. The only thing they have allowed is Rohingya Muslims,” Surya said.

Watch | ‘Owaisi like Jinnah; voting for AIMIM a vote against India’: Tejasvi Surya

“Every Indian should stand against divisive and communal politics of the Owaisi brothers. If you vote for him in Hyderabad, he becomes strong in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh,” the BJP leader added.

This attack by the BJP on the AIMIM comes even as the latter was accused of being a “vote cutter” in the recently-held Bihar assembly polls and helping the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) win in the eastern state.

The GHMC polls are scheduled to take place on December 1. Counting of votes will take place on December 4.