The campaign of Congress party in Hyderabad looks more like an anti-MIM program rather than the election campaign meant to consolidate its hold among the people against the failures of the government. If one carefully see the meetings organized by Congress in Old City of Hyderabad, which holds the key for the post of Hyderabad Mayor, one can easily feel the desperation of the party generated out of friendliness in elections.
For ages, MIM and Congress fought the elections together, though without any written alliance. The informal understanding led the two parties capture of GHMC easily. Now things have changed. MIM is with TRS. BJP has TDP as a friend. Congress is the only party fighting the election without any alliance.
The sense that the MIM ditched the Congress is evident in every meeting the Congress has organized in Old City of Hyderabad. The justification is that in Old City, no party, including the TRS matters, except MIM. So, the Congress has to embark upon MIM bashing and expose the alleged anti-Muslim politics of MIM. But, what Congress party is forgetting is that Congress was alone to blame for MIM’s monopoly over the Old City.
On Sunday night the Congress held meetings at Etebar Chowk, Bada Bazar, SRT Colony and other areas in Yakutpur. The party apologised for the lack of development in Old City. It alleged that MIM consciously prevented the Old City from being transformed into a developed on the lines of the other Hyderabad by the Congress government. According to Congress leaders, MIM leaders have made big fortunes by selling away seats of educational institutions run by Darulsalaam Education Society.
Congress challenged MIM President Asaduddin Owaisi to release the list of candidates who were given free seats in engineering or medical colleges run by his party. Congress leaders slammed MIM leaders for compromising with the TRS Government on the issue of Alair encounter. He said that the MIM, which held over 40 protest meetings after Akbaruddin Owaisi was attacked, did not hold a single demonstration against the Alair encounter.
MIM leaders’ silence on KCR’s promise of 12% Muslim reservation too was highly questionable, Congress leaders said. They ridiculed MIM’s slogan ‘Shaher Hamara, Mayor Hamara’.
Leader of Opposition in Telangana Legislative Council Mohammed Ali Shabbir, CLP Secretary and Pargi MLA C. Ram Mohan Reddy, Greater Hyderabad Congress Committee (Minorities Dept) Chairman Shaik Abdullah Sohail, TPCC Minorities Department Chairman Mohammed Fakhruddin, GHCC Secretary Syed Nizamuddin participated in these meetings. It’s true Congress commands huge influence in Old City, but the question is would help the party drive out MIM from its sanctuary built by none other than the Congress itself.
