'You'll be renamed, not Hyderabad': Owaisi incensed at Yogi's Bhagyanagar promise for GHMC

Hitting out at Yogi Adityanath - UP CM and BJP's VIP campaigner for the upcoming GHMC polls - AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday evening asked if Yogi has taken a contract of renaming every place. He asserted that Hyderabad will not be renamed to Bhagyanagar as pitched by Yogi Adityanath and said that MIM in the Old City is not afraid of BJP's threat.

Owaisi's remark came after Yogi addressed a rally in Hyderabad and ahead of Home Minister Amit Shah's campaign rally. Earlier, Owaisi had said that the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) election is a fight between "Hyderabad and Bhagyanagar".

 "Wherever he goes he says we will change the name of the place. UP's Chief Minister comes here and says he will rename (Hyderabad). You will be renamed, but Hyderabad will never be renamed. Have you taken a contract for this renaming every place? Ask them who made Taj Mahal, they will say we will rename. Now tomorrow maybe they will say Charminar was made by them, Charminar is so pious a place, admire its beauty. No they(BJP) just want to rename. Some of their leaders will say that they will hoist their flag on our Minarets, I ask them how? Our flag is hoisted there - our political flag. Here, neither your flag will work nor your sticks. MIM was in Hyderabad and will always remain," Owaisi said. 

Yogi's speech in Hyderabad

Addressing a roadshow for the GHMC polls on Saturday, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath reignited the debate about renaming Hyderabad as 'Bhagyanagar'.  Stressing that Bhagyanagar is not a communal name, he opined that it symbolizes 'development'. During his speech, he hailed Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel for ensuring that people don't require a 'visa' to enter Hyderabad. Slamming the alleged misgovernance of the TRS and AIMIM, he called upon the people to teach them a lesson in the GHMC election.

"When BJP formed the government in Uttar Pradesh, he changed Faizabad to Ayodhya. We changed Allahabad to Prayagraj. Kumbh is organized there. Prayagraj was the name as per the Puranas. Then why can't Hyderabad become Bhagyanagar? Bhagyanagar is not a communal name. Bhagyanagar is a symbol of culture. It will be a symbol of the development here.'

READ | GHMC Polls: UP CM Yogi Pitches Renaming Of Hyderabad To 'Bhagyanagar'; Attacks TRS & AIMIM

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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READ |JP Nadda Hits Out At TRS For Calling GHMC Polls 'street Election', Slams Cong In Hyderabad