BJP's Ramchander Rao slams Asaduddin Owaisi over leadership remarks, says "AIMIM has leaders in Congress"

Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], April 20 : Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Telangana state president N Ramchander Rao on Monday hit back at AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi over his remarks on leadership and minority representation, asserting that the BJP works for all communities without discrimination.

Speaking to ANI, Rao said that India's democratic structure allows representation across communities, but rejected the idea of exclusive leadership based on religion. "In India, every community - OBC, SC, BC, Patel - will have their own leadership. But there will not be leadership only for Muslims. Revanth Reddy himself has said that Muslims are Congress and Congress is Muslims. What more leadership do you need? You have leaders in Congress," Rao said.

He further emphasised that the BJP does not function on caste or religion-based leadership. "We do not have caste leaders. Our party works for the welfare of every caste, every community - backwards, Dalit, tribal, everyone. But your party is only doing politics. Mr Owaisi should not make such statements. He has many leaders in the Congress party," he added.

The remarks come after Owaisi, addressing a public rally in Gujarat's Limbayat, criticised the Congress over the 1947 Partition and rejected allegations that Muslims were responsible for it. Citing Maulana Abul Kalam Azad's book India Wins Freedom, Owaisi argued that senior Congress leaders were involved in decisions leading to Partition.

Owaisi also targeted Congress and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) for labelling AIMIM as the BJP's "B team" in West Bengal, defending his party's decision to contest a limited number of seats. He asserted that AIMIM is capable of challenging the BJP within the framework of the Constitution and called for greater political assertion among minorities.

Earlier, at a rally in Asansol, Owaisi had also criticised West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her party, holding them responsible for the BJP's rise in the state and alleging neglect of minority-dominated areas.

Polling for West Bengal Assembly elections, which will take place in two phases on April 23 and 29, with the results set for May 4.

The upcoming elections follow the 2021 battle, where the TMC secured a landslide 213 seats. Nonetheless, the BJP's growth from a minor player to 77 seats in the last cycle, with zero seats for Congress and Left parties, has set the stage for the current high-stakes confrontation.

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