Reacting to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's comment that if the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) comes to power in Telangana, Asaduddin Owaisi will have to flee, president of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) said that nobody can force him to flee.
"It is my religious belief that Prophet Adam when he descended on the Earth from Paradise, he came to India. Thus India is my father's country and nobody can force me to flee," he said in an election rally in Hyderabad on Sunday night.
Earlier in the day, speaking at an election rally of the BJP at Tandur, UP CM had said that if his party comes to power in the state, Owaisi will flee the way Nizam had to flee Hyderabad.
Nizam did not flee Hyderabad, AIMIM president added.
"Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan did not flee Hyderabad. He was made 'Raj Pramukh' and when there was war with China, he offered his gold to India," said Owaisi.
The MP said he would not be scared by such threats and propaganda. "This is only Yogi's speech but the language and mentality is of Prime Minister Narendra Modi," he said.
Owaisi said Yogi should speak like a Chief Minister and uphold the dignity of the office he is holding.
He suggested that the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister should first take care of his constituency where 150 children die of encephalitis every year.
Meanwhile, Asaduddin Owaisi's younger brother Akbaruddin Owaisi has also reacted strongly to Adityanath's threat, saying nobody can force them to flee.
"We are not the one who will flee. Our 1,000 generations will live here," the MIM leader said at a public meeting.
To constitute the second Legislative Assembly, the Telangana Legislative Assembly election is scheduled to be held in the state on 7 December.
The incumbent Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), Congress, Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS) and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) are considered to be the main players in the poll.
In Telangana, four opposition parties--the Congress, the TJS, the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the TDP have announced the formation of a 'MahaKootami' (Grand Alliance). The objective is to defeat the ruling TRS.
(With IANS inputs)