Asaduddin Owaisi urges voters to chant Jai Hind before casting vote

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief and Hyderabad parliamentarian Asaduddin Owaisi criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for urging voters to reportedly chant ‘Jai Bajrag Bali’ before casting vote, and sought to know Mr Modi’s reaction if he were to ask Muslims to chant ‘Allahu Akbar’ at the polling booth.

Mr Owaisi was speaking at a public meeting in Kolhar mandal on Thursday night where he was campaigning for his party candidate Allah Baksh whom the party fielded from the Basavana Bagewadi Assembly constituency.

“Tell me what kind of secularism is this that yesterday saw the country’s Prime Minister Modi asking people to raise ‘Jai Bajrang Bali’ slogan at the time of voting?” he questioned.

Mr Owaisi also criticised Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president D K Shivakumar for his comments about developing Hanuman temples soon after the party’s poll promise of banning Bajrag Dal came under



fire.

Tell me, what will happen if i say tonight: all the poor and downtrodden of Karnataka, on the 10th [of May], when you go to cast your vote, raise the ‘Allahu Akbar’ slogan and press the button?” Mr Owaisi asked. He then encouraged voters to chant ‘Jai Hind’ instead. He also urged the public to remember the girl students whose ‘hijab was snatched’ from them and the state of affairs in government schools.

Mr Owaisi expressed his disappointment over the political discourse and said 92% of class III students in Karnataka were unable to read Class II books and only 3% of the students in that state were receiving “acceptable nutrition”.

The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) is contesting two seats in Karnataka two constituencies - Hubli-Dharwad East and Basavana Bagewadi. It is supporting  Sushil Kumar, an independent candidate, from the Jamkhandi Assembly constituency.