A war of words has broken out between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) ahead of the elections to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC). AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi responded to the BJP legislator Tejasvi Surya’s attack on him, noting that the BJP’s intention “was to create hatred.”
“If there are 30,000 Rohingya on the electoral list, what is Interior Minister Amit Shah doing? Is sleeping? Isn’t this your job to see 30,000-40,000 Rohingya listed? If the BJP is honest, it should show 1,000 of those names by tomorrow, ”ANI news agency quoted Owaisi on Monday.
“His intention is to generate hatred. This fight is between Hyderabad and Bhagyanagar. Now it is your responsibility to decide who will win, ”the Hyderabad Lok Sabha MP told a rally.
Owai’s response came after Surya, also the head of the BJP’s youth wing, attacked him earlier that day, saying that every vote for the head of AIMIM means “one vote against India.” Tejasvi Surya also compared him to the founder of Pakistan, Mohammed Ali Jinnah. “Owaisi speaks the language of rabid Islamism, separatism and extremism that Jinnah also spoke. Owaisi and his brother have not allowed development in old Hyderabad. The only thing they have allowed is the Rohingya Muslims, ”Surya said.
Look | ‘Owaisi as Jinnah; vote for AIMIM a vote against India ‘: Tejasvi Surya
“Every Indian should oppose the 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, ”added the BJP leader.
This BJP attack on AIMIM comes even as the latter was accused of being a “vote cutter” in the recently held Bihar assembly polls and of helping the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) win in the eastern state.
GHMC elections are scheduled for December 1. The vote count will take place on December 4.
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