Telangana Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Chief Bandi Sanjay Kumar on Thursday lashed at Congress, Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) over Charminar controversy saying that there is an internal understanding between these parties and they are doing it to gain minority votes.
The statement from Sanjay comes after the state Congress leader Rashid Khan on Tuesday started a signature campaign to hold a sit-in protest to allow the Charminar in Hyderabad to be opened for offering prayers.
Speaking to the media, the state BJP chief said, "Congress and TRS have an internal understanding. AIMIM party is with the TRS party, so to get the minority votes, they need to do something sensational."
Attacking AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, Sanjay said Owaisi is using his Muslim minority as a vote bank.
"We never said Charminar to be removed. We held a meeting at the Charminar and held prayer at Bhagyalakshmi temple. We always wanted the old city to be developed. The AIMIM party is with TRS and party chief Owaisi is trying to increase his assets and to save his assets, he is using his Muslim minority as a vote bank and never developed the old city," he said.
"We asked the same thing, why can't the old city become a new city? Why no flyover in the old city? Why are youth not getting jobs in the old city and why are youth not getting passports in the old city? Why is the old city becoming a shelter for terrorists, who is the reason for this? The Muslim intellectual need to think about it," Sanjay quested.
Responding to the terrorist attacks in the city, the BJP chief asked wherever the bomb blast happens in the country, why is the old city blamed?
"Who put the bomb in the Gokul chat, who put the bombs in Sai Baba Temple and Lumbini park. Who supported them financially? Congress, TRS and AIMIM need to answer it," he said.
While reacting to Rashid Khan who started a campaign to hold a sit-in protest to allow the Charminar to be opened for offering prayers, Sanjay said "Today suddenly you remember namaaz there, since I started padayatra from Bhagyalakshmi temple as the goddess is very powerful there, you started the Namaz issue."
"If Namaz was held there, in the beginning, we won't object to that. If you want to do Namaz as a competition then even the Muslim community will not forgive you," he said.
On Tuesday Congress's Rashid Khan claimed that prayers were earlier held at the Charminar, an Archeological Survey of India protected site, however, Muslims were debarred from offering prayers at the site two decades ago.
( With inputs from ANI )
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