Lok Sabha elections 2024: Invoking a provocative statement by All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Akbaruddin Owaisi from 2013, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Navneet Rana issued a veiled warning to the Owaisi brothers in their stronghold Hyderabad on Wednesday (May 8). To the AIMIM leader's statement that they would take them all of '15 minutes' to balance out the "Hindu-Muslim ratio" in the country, Navneet, who is seeking a fresh term in the Lok Sabha from Amravati, albeit on a BJP ticket this time; hit back at the Owaisi brothers, saying "it would take us 15 seconds if the police were removed or made to stand down".
While addressing a poll rally in Hyderabad on May 8, Amravati Lok Sabha Member of Parliament (MP) and BJP candidate from the constituency, Navneet Ravi Rana said that if you vote for the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and Congress then it goes directly to Pakistan.
Navneet Rana's open threat to Owaisi brothers
Navneet Rana, Bharatiya Janata Party’s firebrand leader who had created a storm in 2022 with the Hanuman Chalisa row, heavily came down on the Owaisi brothers (Asaduddin Owaisi and Akbaruddin Owaisi) in Telangana, saying that if police was removed from duty for 15 seconds, both the brothers will not get to know that from where they came and where they went.
'Kahan se aaya aur kidhar ko gaya...'
“The younger brother says, remove the police for 15 minutes, then we’ll show them what we can do. I want to tell them Dear younger brother, 15 seconds police hata lo, dono ko pata nahin lagega ki wo kahan se aaya aur kidhar ko gaya (it might take you 15 minutes, but it will only take us 15 seconds. If the police are removed for 15 seconds, neither the young nor the old will know where they came from or where they went),” Rana said during a public meeting in support of BJP candidate K Madhavi Latha.
Waris Pathan on Navneet Rana 15 seconds statement
What they will do by removing the police for 15 seconds?. Will they kill all the Muslims?. What is the police administration doing?. Why has no action been taken till now and what is the Election Commission (EC) doing?. Election Commission should take cognizance of this statement and take strict action against BJP MP Navneet Rana.
Akbaruddin Owaisi's '15 minutes' controversial statement
Navneet Rana remarks came in context to Akbaruddin Owaisi’s 2013’s infamous and controversial comment that “if the police were removed for 15 minutes, we (Muslims) would finish 100 crore Hindus.”
Vote for AIMIM, Congress goes directly to Pakistan
Navneet Rana added, "If you vote for AIMIM and Congress, it goes directly to Pakistan. The kind of 'AIMIM prem' and 'Rahul prem' that Pakistan is showing- that defeat PM Modi and make Rahul win. Just like the Congress government governed the country on the signals of Pakistan, the same Pakistan is today saying that they love Congress and AIMIM."
Campaigning for Madhavi Latha in Hyderabad
She later said, "The manner in which Madhavi Latha is contesting like a lioness, on a family bastion seat and even the Congress is fielding a dummy candidate to support AIMIM - I feel Owaisi should contest from somewhere else and see what is real strength. The kind of support that Madhavi Latha is getting from people who are with India - all of them will vote for Madhavi Latha this time. I hope that when voting happens, Madhavi Latha will definitely stop Hyderabad from turning into Pakistan and work for the development of Hyderabad through Parliament."
Last week, Navneet Rana had stoked a controversy after she said those who don’t want to say ‘Jai Shri Ram’ can go to Pakistan. Rana, the incumbent independent MP from Amravati in Maharashtra, reportedly made the remark while speaking in Gujarat on Sunday (May 5). The Maharashtra MP is a star campaigner in Gujarat.
Polling in Telangana, 2019 election results
The Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituency comprises seven assembly segments- Bahadurpura, Chandrayangutta, Charminar, Goshamahal, Karwan, Malakpet and Yakatpura. All Assembly seats, except Goshamahal, are presently held by the AIMIM.
In the 2019 general election, Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) won nine seats, the Bharatiya Janata Party four, Congress three and AIMIM one seat. The BJP had won four seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections out of the 17 at stake in Telangana, namely Secunderabad, Nizamabad, Karimnagar, and Adilabad.
Lok Sabha polls are being held across seven phases till June 1 and votes will be counted on June 4.
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