Posted by New Delhi:The electoral fervour in Hyderabad reached a crescendo as incumbent MP Asaduddin Owaisi was embroiled in yet another controversy, amplifying the political theatrics in the city’s electoral landscape.
The video capturing Owaisi’s words, ‘Rehan beef shop zindabad’, at a local beef shop sparked an outcry, with his parting words igniting further debate as political opponents deemed his remarks provocative and offensive. While shaking hands with the man sitting in the shop Owaisi took their leave and said, “Kaat te raho (keep slaughtering) during his door-to-door campaign.
A dangerous pattern of divisive rhetoric emerges from @asadowaisi, as he shamelessly uses inflammatory language to provoke and offend Hindu sentiments.
His recent campaign antics, including endorsing a beef shop with ‘Rehan Beef Shop Zindabad’ & advocating for violence, are… pic.twitter.com/hvC4D2FrRa
— Vishnu Vardhan Reddy (Modi ka Parivar) (@SVishnuReddy) April 20, 2024
The BJP swiftly seized upon the incident, denouncing Owaisi’s conduct as extreme and indecent, with Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman casting aspersions on the Owaisi family’s political rhetoric. The emergence of Hindutva exponent Madhavi Latha as Owaisi’s challenger added a new dimension to the electoral discourse, intensifying the rivalry between the political stalwarts.
“I was not surprised because Owaisi’s political statements have always been extreme and indecent. Owasi’s brother MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi is also the same”, Sitharaman said.
The historical backdrop of controversies plaguing Owaisi, especially about beef, added a layer of complexity to the fresh controversy, with past statements resurfacing to fuel the ongoing electoral tussle. “If AIMIM is defeated in the election, I am telling you — the members of minority community will have to forget about eating beef,” Owaisi said.
Earlier, BJP’s Madhavi Latha’s provocative gesture of releasing an imaginary arrow towards a mosque during the Ram Navami procession in Hyderabad on Wednesday faced huge criticism from several opposition leaders and netizens.
“You saw that one candidate of the BJP is gesturing to shoot an arrow in the direction of a mosque. If you even feel a little bit of pain, you should vote not for the sake of the party but for that ‘ibadatgah’ (prayer house). If you will keep sleeping even now, when you will get up,” Owaisi said.
“That imaginary arrow was not pointed at any mosque but against the peace and tranquillity of Hyderabad. It showed their (BJP) intention of destroying the peace of Hyderabad. It was done to weaken the peace among Hindus and Muslims. You can have differences with me, but peace in the city is for everyone,” Owaisi added.
While refuting the allegations of gesturing an imaginary arrow towards the mosque, Latha said that she was gesturing towards the sky and not towards the mosque. “I would like to clarify that it’s an incomplete video and even because of such video if anyone’s sentiments are hurt then I would like to apologise as I respect all individuals,” Madhavi Latha said in the post.