‘Make Owaisi Visit Temple If You Have Courage’: BJP’s Bandi Sanjay Dares Revanth Reddy | Politics News

If Reddy has courage, he should get AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi to perform ‘arti’ at the temple, Kumar said. (File)

Union Minister and senior BJP leader Bandi Sanjay Kumar on Thursday slammed Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and other Congress leaders for wearing skullcaps during campaigning for the upcoming Jubilee Hills Assembly bypoll and questioned whether the Owaisis ever offered prayers at the Bhagya Lakshmi temple in Hyderabad.

While addressing a rally in favour of BJP candidate L Deepak Reddy, the union minister questioned why similar gestures are not seen from AIMIM leaders. He said that if the Chief Minister has courage, he should get AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi to perform ‘aarti’ at the temple. He further dared Reddy, who was wearing the skullcap, should make Mohd Azharuddin, former cricketer and newly inducted minister, recite prayers and have a ’tilak’.

“Bhagya Lakshmi temple is there in the old city. Did Akbaruddin Owaisi or Asaduddin Owaisi ever had ‘darshan’ there and broke a coconut or offered ‘arti’. Revanth Reddy should think about it and answer. They don’t pray or have ’tilak’. Shamelessly, these people (Congress leaders) wear caps and are greedy for their votes,” Kumar said as quoted by news agency PTI.

Recalling that Hindus were killed after being identified by their religion in the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, he said it should be checked whether the Congress leaders wearing skullcaps are real Hindus or have Pakistan in their DNA.

Akbaruddin Owaisi had said that “whether it is Reddy or Rao”, they should follow him. The Congress and BRS leaders should be ashamed after such remarks, the union minister claimed.

Kumar also accused the Congress of distributing gifts like grinders to Muslim women to influence votes. He said that Muslim women are “our daughters” and they treat Prime Minister Narendra Modi as their elder brother.

The union minister also alleged that burqas were being brought from Pakistan to facilitate bogus voting. He further repeated his charge that AIMIM aims to increase its influence in the state.

“But, you know what Revanth Reddy sir did? He got 40,000 ‘burqas’ from Pakistan. Because they are trying to get bogus votes cast by them. The Muslim women here should be careful,” he said.

Kumar further alleged that the Congress is trying to consolidate Muslim votes in the constituency. He said that the Hindus in Jubilee Hills should become a “vote bank” and ensure victory. If the Congress or BRS candidates win, the Hindus can’t celebrate festivals, he said.

Observing that the Constitution and Election Commission are same for all, Kumar urged the EC to check faces before voting, referring to ‘burqa-clad women’.

Referring to objections raised to the installation of a statue of Shivaji Maharaj, he said, “If Naveen Khan (Congress candidate Naveen Yadav) or Sunita Begum (BRS nominee Maganti Sunita) wins here, your community halls would become mosques or Dargahs. If Bakrid comes, blood (due to animal sacrifice) will flow in the streets. You cannot celebrate Vinayaka Chaviti or Dussehra, Hanuman Jayanti or Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj”.

“Owaisi is dreaming to make this country an Islamic state by 2047. Also, he and Revanth Reddy are making conspiracies to make Telangana Islamic,” Kumar said.

If non-BJP parties win one seat here (Jubilee Hills), the situation of Hindus in Telangana would be such that “they have to beg”, he said.

The bypoll in Jubilee Hills – where the Muslim electorate is estimated to be around 1.3 lakh – is being seen as a prestige battle for the ruling Congress. The by-election is scheduled to be held on November 11. It was necessitated by the death of sitting MLA Maganti Gopinath of the BRS. The opposition party has fielded his wife, Maganti Sunitha.

The BJP has once again given a ticket to Lankala Deepak Reddy.

(With inputs from agencies)