Amid ongoing efforts by Telangana Chief Minister Bandi Sanjay to rally Opposition forces around the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and against the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre ahead of next year’s Lok Sabha elections, BJP state president Bandi Sanjay on Sunday said “a vote for the BRS would amount to a vote in Congress’s kitty”.
The firebrand BJP state president made the remark at a press conference in state capital Hyderabad on Sunday. Earlier on Sunday, Sanjay also lashed out at Asaduddin Owaisi-led All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) for speaking in favour of slain gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed.
The jailed gangster and his brother Ashraf, who were accused in the murder of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Raju Pal, and subsequently, in the killing of a key witness in that case, Umesh Pal, were shot dead in police custody while being brought for a medical in Prayagraj.
The chilling murder in full view of surrounding media crews drew censure from Opposition forces, who voiced concern over the prevailing law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh.
A day after the gangster siblings were sprayed with bullets by three gunmen posing as journalists, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi had said Atiq was the second former MP from the Muslim community to be “murdered with impunity”.
He even compared Atiq’s assailants with Nathuram Godse, the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi.
“People in police custody were killed. Those who killed them are terrorists and are part of a terror module. They might kill more people. Why did they not slam UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act) on the assailants? Who gave automatic weapons to the killers? Who gave firearms worth Rs 8 lakh to them?” Owaisi had said.
“They were radicalised people, following in the footsteps of Godse. They must be stopped or else they will kill more people,” Owaisi had said.
Coming down hard on the AIMIM chief over his remarks, Sanjay said it was shameful that the leader of the minority outfit spoke in favour of the slain gangster and his son Asad, who was killed earlier in an exchange of fire with a team from the UP STF in Jhansi.
Questioning the silence of the BRS and the Congress in the matter, Sanjay said, “Why haven’t the BRS or the Congress not condemned it (Owaisi’s statement)? Was Atiq Ahmed a patriot? He looted the poor and committed atrocities on them.”
He alleged further that Owaisi’s party nurtures “terrorists”.
Sanjay has stepped up his offensive against the ruling BRS government in Telangana since he was picked up past midnight hours from his residence and arrested on April 4 in connection with the Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC) paper leak case.
He was granted bail by a magistrate’s court in Warangal on April 6. The court allowed bail on the payment of Rs 20,000 as surety.