'Who is Owaisi? He's Jinnah's new avatar,' says BJP's Tejasvi Surya making Rohingyas claim

On Monday, BJP's Tejasvi Surya said that AIMIM has allowed Rohingya Muslims to stay illegally in Hyderabad and the Owaisis are speaking the "language of rabid Islamism, separatism and extremism which Muhammad Ali Jinnah had spoken." Campaigning for the upcoming Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections, Tejasvi Surya said that a vote to AIMIM means that people will choose to divide the nation. Earlier the saffron party had said that Congress & TRS have a closed-door understanding with AIMIM and released an 'Aarop Patra' against Telangana CM KCR's rule.

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Tejasvi Surya said, "Laughable that Akabaruddin & Asaduddin Owaisi are speaking of development. They haven't allowed development in old Hyderabad, the only thing they allowed is Rohingya Muslims. He (Asaduddin Owaisi) speaks the language of rabid Islamism, separatism and extremism which Mohammed Ali Jinnah also spoke. Every Indian should stand against divisive and communal politics of the Owaisi brothers. Vote to Owaisi is a vote against India." He continued, "Who is Owaisi? Owaisi is Mohammed Ali Jinnah's new avatar".

Earlier on Sunday, Union Minister G Kishan Reddy alleged that the Asaduddin Owaisi-led party was 'family-run' and has no relation with Muslims. Seeking votes for BJP, Kishan Reddy charged the MIM with having a history of 'harassing' poor Muslims and 'grabbing' their assets using mafia.

"As far as Majlis party (AIMIM) is concerned, BJP is very clear. There is no relation between the Majlis party and Muslims. Muslims brothers are different and the Majlis party is different. The Majlis Party harasses thousands of Muslims in Hyderabad. It encroached properties of thousands of Muslims using mafia gangs and settlements," Reddy told reporters.

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Owaisi says no alliance with TRS

Earlier in the day, Owaisi said that there will be no alliance with TRS in the upcoming polls and claimed that power minister who belongs to TRS had falsely said that AIMIM leaders met PM Modi. Speaking to media, Owaisi also said that Congress had made similar allegations against AIMIM after Bihar elections. He also slammed the BJP and said that the party is trying to give communal colour to the polls, and asked about the financial aid that Centre has given to Hyderabad post-2019.

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Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections

The Telangana State Election Commission (TSEC) announced that 150 GHMC divisions will go to polls on December 1 and the counting of votes will be done on December 4. Due to COVID-19 pandemic, the polling time has been extended by one hour, i.e., from 7 am to 6 pm. The current term of the GHMC council ends in February 2021 and in the 2016 elections, AIMIM won 44 seats, TRS won 99. BJP won 4 seats, Congress won 2 and TDP won one seat.

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