If Pakistanis Live in Hyd, Sack Your MP: Owaisi Hits Back at BJP

Owaisi slammed Kumar for his remark and said that all those who are living in Hyderabad are citizens of India.

BJP Leader Sanjay calls for a surgical strike on Muslim majority areas and gains rebuke.

(Photo: The Quint)

Responding to Telangana Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Chief Bandi Sanjay Kumar’s controversial comments from Tuesday, 24 November, Hyderabad MP and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Wednesday reportedly said that Minister of State for Home Affairs and BJP MP from Secunderabad Kishan Reddy should be immediately sacked from his post for his “failure” in preventing “Pakistanis and Rohingya Muslims from illegally staying in Hyderabad”.’

Following BJP's victory in Greater Hyderabad civic polls, BJP’s Bandi Sanjay Kumar had said ‘surgical strikes’ will be carried out to drive away pro-Pakistan elements and Rohingyas in Hyderabad

Owaisi, according to TNM, said in response:

“I have only one question for the BJP, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. For the past six and half years, you are governing the country. And from Secunderabad, your party member is an MP and he is the Minister of State for Home Affairs. If there are Pakistanis and Rohingyas in Hyderabad, what has your minister been doing for the past one and half year? Was the MoS Home Affairs sleeping? Didn’t he know that there are Rohingyas here?” 

Further, Owaisi also asserted: “If your party is saying that there are Pakistanis in Old City, then I want to tell you that Secunderabad MP and the minister from your Cabinet has proved to be inefficient.”

“He should be sacked from the Cabinet immediately. He should offer his resignation for allowing Pakistanis and Rohingyas to stay in Hyderabad illegally.”

More Of What Owaisi Said

Owaisi had also, previously, according to ANI said:

“I give you 24 hours to tell how many Pakistanis live here.”

Owaisi also commented on why no ‘surgical strike’ was conducted against the Chinese in Ladakh's Galwan Valley.

“Who will you do a surgical strike on? The Chinese force PLA is occupying 970 square km in Ladakh... they won't even take their name,” NDTV reported.

“Tell us how many Pakistanis or Rohingyas are here. Remember, whoever is in Hyderabad -- Hindu, Muslim, Dalit, Sikh, Christian -- are all Indians. We won't let Pakistanis here," Owaisi added.

What Had BJP’s BJP’s Bandi Sanjay Kumar Said?

“GHMC polls should be conducted without illegal voters from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Rohingyas. We will conduct a surgical strike in old city once we win the polls,” Kumar said while campaigning for the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections in Hyderabad.

“You want to win the election using the illegal votes of intruders. That is against the interest of the country. We will throw them all out once we elect a BJP Mayor for Hyderabad.”

Bandi Sanjay Kumar, as quoted by ANI

Kumar alleged that the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) are trying to win the GHMC polls with Rohingyas, Pakistani and Afghanistani voters, reported IANS.

Saying that the BJP works for Hindu dharma, Kumar added:

“Elections must happen without Rohingya and Pakistani peoples’ votes, without Afghanistani voters. For such elections to happen in Bhagyanagar, it is only possible through the BJP. Those who win through minority appeasement and Muslim votes are called secular. When BJP comes forward for 80 percent Hindus, to protect the sentiments of Hindus, BJP is called a religious party. Yes, BJP works for Hindu dharma.” 

Meanwhile, Union Minister Smriti Irani also attacked the TRS-MIM alliance.

She said that leaders of the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) misused their political positions to include Rohingya Muslims in the voter list. She claimed that two television channels have shown how the MIM leaders used their letterheads to ensure that illegal immigrants are included in the voter list.

Irani is in the city to campaign for the BJP in Greater Hyderabad civic polls.

This remark comes a day after BJP MP Tejasvi Surya launched a scathing attack on AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi while campaigning for the Hyderabad civic polls and accused him of “playing divisive and communal politics.”

Surya said that Owaisi is Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s new avatar. TRS and MIM are two faces of the same coin.

Some People Trying to Divide People: KT Rao

Responding to Bandi Sanjay’s 'surgical strike' comment, KT Rao, who is also the state Minister for Municipal Administration, said, “Some people are trying to divide and provoke people for gaining a few votes”.

“Everyone in Hyderabad must think about whether they want to let this happen. Till yesterday, he (Bandi Sanjay) was asking youngsters to not bother with traffic rules. Then he called KCR a traitor and said he has terrorist links. Now I don’t know why they’re acting so crazy for one election. They have said they will do a surgical strike in Hyderabad. It’s better to fall at people’s feet and beg for votes than stooping so low.”

KT Rama Rao, TRS Working President

KTR said that the BJP is trying to disrupt peace in Hyderabad by bringing a Hindu-Muslim feeling. He added, “They want Hyderabad to suffer just so they can get a few votes.”

According to a report by The News Minute, the BJP has accused the AIMIM of helping Rohingyas procure voter ID cards, Aadhaar cards, and ration cards in exchange for their votes.

Earlier on Monday Owaisi had questioned on what Union Home Minister Amit Shah was going to do if there were actually thousands of Rohingyas in the electoral list.

Though the chief didn’t confirm the existence of Rohingya voters, he challenged the claims made by the BJP leaders who said so. Sanjay’s anti-Muslim and anti-Rohingya comments were made in response to Owaisi’s remarks.

All 150 wards of Hyderabad will be voting in the GHMC on 1 December, 2020.

(With inputs from ANI , IANS and The News Minute)