Asaduddin Owaisi sounded the Telangana Assembly poll bugle

Hyderabad: All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi sounded the Telangana Assembly poll bugle and instructed party workers to start preparing for the elections.

The Hyderabad parliamentarian was addressing a public meeting in the sprawling grounds of the party headquarters in Darussalaam on Thursday that marked the 65th anniversary of the party’s “foundation day”.

“Those who are office-bearers in Telangana, prepare for elections. Consider that the Assembly election bugle has been sounded. Keeping this in mind, we have to go to our areas, Assembly constituencies, and villages with this message,” Mr Owaisi said.

He appealed to party workers to fight against hatred so that peace emerged victorious, and also for the continued progress of Telangana. “Do you want the Constitution or the bulldozer? Do you prefer Ambedkar, who drafted the Constitution, or the bulldozer? Will you prefer love, or oppression? You have to decide this. God willing, we will save the Constitution and ensure the victory of Ambedkar so that bulldozers lose. We will ensure victory of peace so that oppression ends,” he said.

All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi on Thursday vowed to expand his national footprint by contesting the ensuing Rajasthan and Karnataka elections, while exhorting partymen to gear up for Telangana elections, which he claimed would be held in next few months.

AIMIM has already made electoral forays into other states, including Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Bihar. The party, which has seven MLAs in Telangana, is hoping to raise its strength in other assemblies too. AIMIM floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi had recently announced the party would contest 50 assembly seats in the state.

Asaduddin Owaisi AIMIM president heaped praises on the KCR government and said after BRS came to power, Telangana has achieved higher growth rate than BJP-ruled states. The state government was ensuring peace in the state and taking steps to curb communal elements. There have been no curfews or riots, Owaisi



said. 

Touching upon the death of Khadeer Khan from Medak, whose death was caused, allegedly, by police brutality, Mr Owaisi demanded action more than suspension of policemen. He said that a case under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code be booked against the accused cops, and opined that suspension was not punishment.

Expressing concerns over the killing of innocent civilians on account of vigilantism and highhandedness of members of State machinery, Mr Owaisi said that the party would extend financial assistance to Mr Khan’s widow. Similarly, the party would help the family of Junaid and Naseer, both residents of Rajasthan. who were killed, allegedly, by cow protection vigilantes whom Mr Owaisi described as terrorists.

Welcoming the Supreme Court judgment laying down the process to appoint Chief Election Commissioner, Mr Owaisi hoped that this would bring about greater transparency and independence for the Election Commission.

The Hyderabad parliamentarian criticised External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar for his reported comments in which he described India as a smaller economy against the backdrop of the Chinese transgressions along the India-China border.

Majlis floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi traced the party’s history and the progress the party had made and the institutions it had created.

The AIMIM floor leader in Telangana, Akbaruddin Owaisi, took a swipe at the promises made by Modi before coming to power. “I remember the promise that ‘first toilets, then temples’ (pehley shauchalay, phir devalay’). I ask the Gaurakshaks if toilets were constructed at your place? Nothing concrete has been achieved in 10 years. We don’t need neither the tea of chaiwala, whistle of chowkidar, nor do we want the bag (jhola) of fakiri,” he said, to applause.

Alleging that secular parties failed Muslims, Akbar held that AIMIM was forced to take the path and spread its wings across the country. “They not only failed to fulfil their responsibility, but also failed in controlling the rise of Hindutva. They had failed to justify their positions,” he said.