The Telangana Congress launched GHMC poll campaign with a massive rally and street-corner meetings throughout Sunday. Not to be lagged behind, the party initiated the campaign from Chandrayanagutta, the Assembly constituency being represented by the MIM second-in-command Akbaruddin Owaisi. TRS has already began its campaign occupying majority hoardings available in city.
It’s a symbolic move by the grand-old-party to demonstrate that Muslims still love Congress. For ages, in Hyderabad, Congress and MIM had been friends. The MIM maintained its direct contact with 10, Jan Path, residence of Congress president Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi. However, Telangana movement and rise of TRS forced the MIM to change its loyalties. It ditched Congress and joined hands with TRS. When in alliance, both Congress and MIM Jointly ruled the GHMC for ten years. With vengeance, the Congress, now wants to prove that it was not the MIM that fetched the Congress Muslim votes, it was the secular character, that endeared the party to the minorities.
In a well-calculated move aimed at boosting the morale of Congress cadre and stunning MIM leadership, Greater Hyderabad Congress Committee Minorities cell chairman Shaik Abdullah Sohail picked Chandrayangutta to launch the party’s campaign in the Old City. “We want to send across a strong message to the party cadre that we can hold campaign in Akbaruddin Owaisi’s constituency, then other areas are just a cake walk,” he said. The party is under the impression that the Seemandhra people would vote for Congress as the TDP is in tatters in Hyderabad. So, winning over the Muslims would make facing the election a breeze.
TPCC President N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, Leader of Opposition in Legislative Council Mohammed Ali Shabbir, TPCC Minorities Department Chairman Mohammed Fakhruddin, GHCC General Secretary Syed Nizamuddin and other top leaders participated in the massive rally and street corner meetings.
“It was the Congress which provide the opportunity to MIM to develop the Old City. But the MIM leaders worked for selfish gains and turned theselves millionaires while neglecting the problems of poor Muslims. Today MIM has entered into a secret alliance with the BJP and has been trying to damage Congress party in other parts of the country. We erred in understanding the real intentions of MIM leaders. We mistook them for secular after they gave tickets to some Dalit leaders. They not only pursued communal politics, but now they are backing the BJP and other communal forces,” said Uttam Kumar Reddy while addressing a street corner meeting in Bandlaguda.
Shabbir Ali slammed MIM for neglecting development in the Old City of Hyderabad. “MIM won first municipal elections in 1961, entered Assembly in 1962 and it has been winning Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat since 1984. They brought no development during the last 54 years and has been blackmailing the entire community for personal gains,” he said while promising to allocate amounts under his MLC fund to resolve drinking water problem in Barkas area. He said only Congress party has the strength and reach to defeat the communal politics of BJP. “MIM leaders are working at the behest of BJP and this has been exposed by the national media on multiple occasions,” he said.
Shabbir Ali appealed the youth of Old City to join Congress party to strengthen the fight against communalism. Mulsim leaders, Abullah Sohail, Syed Nizamuddin asked Akbaruddin Owaisi as to why MIM had been a mute spectator to the non-implementation of promise of 12% Muslim reservation by Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao. They said the MIM leaders had failed to utilize Rs. 2,000 crore package for Old City given by the then Congress Government in 2007. The Congress rally passed through Bandlaguda, Chandrayangutta crossroads, Peeli Dargah, Salala, Barkas, Chandrayangutta, Phool Bagh, Uppuguda and other areas.
