NEW DELHI: AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi on Sunday hit back at Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis for his ‘vote jihad‘ comments during a public meeting.
Referencing Bharatiya Janata Party’s recent electoral loss in Dhule, Fadnavis had claimed that ‘vote jihad’ was occurring in Maharashtra and should be met with ‘dharma yuddha‘ of votes.
Questioning Fadnavis’ statements, Owaisi said during a public meeting at Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, “Our ancestors did jihad against Britishers and Fadnavis is now teaching us about jihad. (PM) Narendra Modi, (Union minister) Amit Shah, and Devendra Fadnavis together cannot defeat me in a debate.”
“From where did ‘vote jihad and dharmayuddha’ come in democracy? You purchased MLAs; should we call you a thief?” the Hyderabad MP questioned. “While Fadnavis talks about (vote) jihad, his hero was writing ‘love letters’ to Britishers, whereas our freedom fighters did not negotiate with the foreign rulers.”
“We gave the method of fighting against the British. He (Fadnavis) said ‘vote jihad’ after they (BJP) didn’t get votes in Malegaon (during Lok Sabha election). When they fail to get votes, they call it jihad. They lost in Ayodhya. How did that happen”? Owaisi questioned.
“Our ancestors did jihad against Britishers, not yours. Fadnavis, whose ancestors were writing love letters to the British, will teach us jihad?” he added in a veiled attack on Hindutva ideologues revered by the BJP.
Owaisi also questioned Fadnavis’ commitment to Maharashtra, alleging that he did not prevent industrial projects from moving to Gujarat. He questioned, “Was he afraid of Narendra Modi?”
The AIMIM leader urged people to vote in the November 20 assembly elections. Owaisi’s speech in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar aimed to rally support for AIMIM candidates Imtiaz Jaleel and Naser Siddiqui, who are contesting from Aurangabad East and Aurangabad Central respectively.
