The war of words between the AIMIM and Congress turned ugly as Hyderabad MP and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi accused Telangana PCC chief A Revanth Reddy of indulging in dog whistle politics following the latter’s jibe at him saying he wears khaki knickers under his sherwani insinuating his links with RSS.
Both the Congress and the AIMIM are vying for the minority votes not only in the seven seats where the AIMIM has sitting MLAs but rest of Telangana as well. Both the BRS and the AIMIM have attacked Revanth Reddy alleging his stint in the ABVP, the student wing of the BJP.
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Not to be cowed down by the onslaught, Reddy decided to hit back, particularly over Jubilee Hills where Congress has fielded former cricketer Muhammad Azharuddin as its candidate due to the presence of 33 per cent vote. The AIMIM, which didn’t have a candidate in the fray last time, fielded a corporator Rashed Farazuddin in a tactical move to split the 33 per cent Muslim vote and help BRS sitting MLA.
Reddy not only questioned the move but also wondered why Owaisi did not field a candidate in Goshamahal where his party headquarters was located while allowing Raja Singh, a staunch Hindutva leader, to win from there.
On being questioned by the AIMIM about his ABVP antecedents, Reddy chose to rake up the AIMIM’s past saying the Owaisi party owed its origin to Qasim Rizvi, the head of the Razakars during Nizam’s reign. He wondered should he address the senior Owaisi as Qasim Rizvi.
He went on to ask who Asaduddin Owaisi’s lawyer is, before answering himself, “It is Raghunandan Rao, the BJP MLA from Dubbaka. Asaduddin Owaisi is accusing me of having links with the RSS. I thought he wears sherwani with pajamas but never knew he wears khaki knickers.”
“This is called dog whistle politics. You are indulging in hate politics. People of Telangana will give reply to your dog whistle politics. You have come from RSS and your connection with RSS still exists. Mohan Bhagwat is controlling you,” said Owaisi while dubbing Reddy as “RSS Anna (elder brother)”.
Assaduddin’s brother Akbaruddin, the AIMIM candidate from Chandrayangutta had mocked Reddy as “RSS Tillu” in a party meeting.
