'Owaisi's AIMIM has no relation with Muslims': BJP's Kishan Reddy ahead of GHMC polls

Hitting out at the AIMIM, Union Minister G Kishan Reddy on Sunday alleged that the Asaduddin Owaisi-led party was 'family-run' and has no relation with Muslims. Seeking votes for BJP for overall development in Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) polls, 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.

He further alleged that BJP sees MIM as a political party which inherited the ideology of Razakars-private militia organised by Qasim Razvi during the rule of Nizam and supported terror activities by extending financial and legal aid to some of them. He said if BJP was voted to power in the GHMC polls, the city will witness overall development across all areas. Reddy also claimed that the L&T Metro rail cost was overrun by Rs 3500 crore due to delays caused by the K Chandrashekhar Rao's government. Works of the metro rail began much before Rao took over as CM of the state, he said.

READ | Owaisi dismisses alliance with TRS for GHMC polls and taunts KCR over his 'anti-BJP front'

Javadekar slams AIMIM

Slamming the TRS and the AIMIM ahead of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections,  BJP leader and Union Minister Prakash Javadekar asked about the developmental works that they have done in Hyderabad and gave a list of failures of the KCR government. Emboldened by the victory in the Dubbak bypoll, BJP has focussed on the GHMC polls and also sent its National General Secretary Bhupender Yadav to script the success. Javadekar while addressing a press conference on Sunday said that Dubbak has shown the wave in Telangana and stated that the fight in Hyderabad is directly between AIMIM and BJP. 

Javadekar claimed that AIMIM has a closed-door understanding with KCR even as Owaisi said that they are contesting against TRS. "In Hyderabad, the question is that whom mayor you want AIMIM or BJP? Voting for Congress & TRS means voting for AIMIM & voting for AIMIM means voting for the division. BJP has come up with an 'aarop patra' which features 60 failures of the state government during the last 6 years."

READ | BJP promises 'AIMIM-free Hyderabad'; lists KCR's '60 failures in 6 yrs' before GHMC polls

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.

READ | GHMC elections: BJP & TRS drag each other to EC; allege derogatory jibes against PM & KCR

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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