Asaduddin Owaisi alleges that Rahul Gandhi only spoke about the MIM but had never raised his voice in support of Muslims

Hyderabad: The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) on Tuesday accused the Congress of joining hands with the RSS and the BJP to defeat not just its candidates but also those from the BRS even as its two top leaders, party president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi and floor leader in the outgoing Assembly Akbaruddin Owaisi, expressed the confidence that the MIM would not only retain its seven  seats but also expected to do well in the two additional constituencies it is contesting from.

Addressing a party meeting at Khilwath Grounds, the MIM president slammed the Congress Nampally candidate Md Feroz Khan for his reported promise to remove loudspeakers from mosques in the constituency if he won. "He is also mocking the Shariat. The Majlis party will not allow any such action and it is for the people to elect the MIM candidate Md Majid Hussain to teach Congress a lesson," he said.

Asaduddin Owaisi said the Congress in the state was led by A. Revanth Reddy who is steeped in RSS ideology. Congress leader was in Nampally on Tuesday but did not enter the neighbouring Goshamahal constituency because he wanted to help the BJP’s D. Raja Singh win.

This tactic was being followed Kamareddy where the MIM has called on Muslims to vote for BRS candidate and Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao. He said the Congress had



joined hands with the RSS in Nirmal, Adilabad, Karimnagar, Maheshwaram, Malakpet, and many other constituencies and was deliberately not doing much in order to help the BJP win more seats.

He alleged that Rahul Gandhi only spoke about the MIM but had never raised his voice in support of Muslims. "Rahul did not speak up on triple talaq, reservations for Muslims based on their economic backwardness, and when Modi removed Article 370. This is because Hindu ideology is alive in Rahul," Asaduddin Owaisi said, adding that the Congress, on the lines of the BJP, did not want to see Mulsims gain political strength.

He said the Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that the IT Tower in Malakpet was being built for the Muslims. He should know that even Dalit and Hindu youths will get opportunities there, the MIM chief said.

Akbaruddin said  there were constant attacks on Muslims and the latest comments by Modi were a reflection of this attitude. "They say there is appeasement if a stadium is built in the Old City, when schools and hospitals are built. They say we should not speak. But Asad has the same right as Modi. Those who sport a beard and wear a cap have the same rights in the country as those who wear tilak on their foreheads," Akbaruddin Owaisi said.