Hyderabad: A Revanth Reddy, Akbaruddin Owaisi spar over minorities’ issues

Hyderabad : The Assembly on Thursday witnessed heated discussion between the Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen leader Akbaruddin Owaisi, amid uproar between their party legislators.

While the MIM leader Akbaruddin Owaisi was speaking on the short discussion on ‘Telangana State Energy Sector- White Paper’ in the Assembly, he listed out the power works taken up in the old city and sought more funds, the Congress member Kambampally Satyanarayana said the MIM was friendly with the BRS government and asked why they were unable to get funds. Responding to this, Akbaruddin said the MLA should have wisdom (akalrehnichahiye). The Congress members objected to this comment even as Legislative Affairs Minister D Sridhar Babu asked the MIM leader to respect each and every member and urged the Speaker to expunge the comment of Owaisi.

Intervening here, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy said that the Congress member was newly elected and Akbaruddin was six times MLA and this is the reason the party gave opportunity to him as protem-speaker. Seniority doesn’t get any extra power. Every member has to respect all. When a member asks, a senior member should answer. The disrespect against any other member will not increase the members respect, said the chief minister. He said that the old city and new city were the same for the government.

Revanth Reddy said that the MIM ensured defeat of Congress candidate Mohd Azharuddin by fielding a Muslim candidate in Jubilee Hills. He also said that Owaisi’s friend KCR contested in Kamareddy to defeat another Muslim candidate Shabbir Ali in Kamareddy. Owaisi should note that even Hindus had voted for him, and he was representative of four crore people. “Owaisi is not the ‘thekedar’ of the Muslims.

He cannot insult a Dalit MLA,” said Revanth Reddy. He raised the distribution losses in Sircilla, Gajwel and Old city, which were 68 per cent and asked why doesn’t Akbaruddin take the responsibility to get the bills.

“Instead of talking on the subject, the MIM member was going on praising the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government. No one is ready to hear this. Why is Owaisi trying to save his friend who has committed a mistake,” said Revanth Reddy.

Revanth Reddy said that the responsibility of saving the interests of minorities was with Congress and the party don’t want to learn from anyone. He said that it was the Congress party which gave 4 per cent reservation.

Akbaruddin said that he was not the minority cell leader of any party and the decision to field the candidate in Jubilee Hills was because there were corporators of the party in the segment. He also said that the MIM would never align with the BJP.

“We will die but will not align with a party which was responsible for the demolition of Babri Masjid and those who play Holi with the blood of Muslims,” said Akbaruddin.

When Revanth Reddy pointed out that MIM was in friendship with successive governments headed by N Bhaskar Rao, Congress, TDP and BRS, Akbaruddin Owaisi said that MIM had an alliance with Congress because of YS Rajasekhara Reddy, who was a gentleman and, on his efforts, Muslims got 4 per cent reservations.