Cong terms Owaisi brothers ‘snakes’

Says MIM is sending wrong signals to minority

Hyderabad: In its efforts to regain the lost ground and to strengthen the party at all levels, the Congress seems to have made up its mind to unleash a blitzkrieg against rival political outfits in Telangana.

Addressing the State Minorities' Convention held by Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee at Imperial Gardens in Secunderabad on Sunday, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Digvijay Singh said the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (MIM) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had entered into a secret deal, adding that both the MIM MLAs had abstained during the Trust Vote in Maharashtra Assembly.

He said by not voting against the BJP, the MIM MLAs had supported the saffron party. After damaging the Congress in Maharashtra, the MIM leaders were now searching for candidates in Delhi. “Owaisi brothers are snakes,” Digvijay said.

Speaking on the occasion, AICC Minorities’ Department chairman Khursheed Ahmed Sayeed said, “Two snakes from here have gone to Maharashtra and questioned what Congress did for the Muslims.” Stating that no party did what Congress did for the Muslims, he said hundreds of minority institutions being run across the country were started during the Congress regime.

Khursheed Ahmed asked whether the Muslims were not enjoying the benefits of national schemes like BPL cards or Aadhaar cards. However, Muslims were being given wrong message by the MIM that Congress did nothing for them, he said. “The Congress did not know that they were feeding snakes. The MIM’s wrong propaganda had resulted in the Congress losing about 20 seats in Maharashtra,” he added.

Rajya Sabha MP V Hanumantha Rao asked the Congress workers to campaign in the old city against MIM. He said if MIM was not stopped in the old city, it would go to different States and damage the Congress. Citing examples of CPM leader Madhu, he said when leaders of Left parties could make some inroads in Hyderabad, why couldn’t the workers of a national party take up campaign in the old city. He said the Congress should give triple ‘Talaq’ to the MIM and there should be no adjustments, whatsoever, in future.

Other Congress leaders including Mir Hadi Ali, Mohammed Abdullah Sohail and others demanded the Congress announce the candidature of TPCC Minorities Department chairman Md Sirajuddin as its candidate for Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat in the next elections.