Congress slams MIM; holds massive rally in Old City

Hyderabad: The Congress alleged that the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) had prevented the then Congress government from developing the Old City of Hyderabad so that the latter could continue the exploitation of local residents. Addressing different corner meetings at Etebar Chowk, Bada Bazar, SRT Colony and other areas in Yakutpura on Sunday evening, Leader of Opposition in Telangana Legislative Council Mohammed Ali Shabbir said the MIM, which was an ally of the Congress since 2004, always objected to the development plans for Old City.

Apologising for the lack of development, he appealed to the people to weed out the MIM from the Old City and vote for the Congress in the GHMC elections. Questioning MIM's commitment towards the Muslim community, he said the MIM leaders had made big fortunes by selling away seats of educational institutions run by Darussalam Education Society. He 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.

Shabbir Ali also 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. He said the Special Investigation Team, which was constituted to probe the encounter, was proved to be just eyewash. Similarly, MIM remained silent on Kishanbagh firing incident, murder of 12-year-old boy Mustafa Shaik in military garrison and other atrocities against Muslims.

MIM leaders’ silence on KCR's promise of 12% Muslim reservation too was highly questionable, he said. He said former MIM president late Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi was more committed towards the community while his successors had deviated from the original policy. Greater Hyderabad Congress Committee (Minorities Dept) chairman Shaik Abdullah Sohail, who organised the rally, said the Congress’ entry into the Old City had sent shockwaves among MIM leaders. He said the Congress wanted to have an open electoral battle with the MIM in the entire Old City.

However, MIM leaders were trying to use women as a shield and got most of the wards reserved for women, he said. Abdullah Sohail said so far hundreds of MIM workers and many prominent leaders had joined the Congress and many more would join in the next few days. He said that the Congress would expose MIM’s failures during the GHMC election campaign. CLP secretary and Pargi MLA C Ram Mohan Reddy listed out various schemes implemented by the previous Congress regime for the welfare of Muslims. He said 4% Muslim reservation had revolutionised the lives of lakhs of poor Muslim families.

He slammed K Chandrashekar Rao for not implementing the promise of 12% Muslim reservation. TPCC Minorities Department Chairman Mohammed Fakhruddin assured that the Congress would fight for the rights of people of Old City and ensure the development of their areas. GHCC secretary Syed Nizamuddin announced that the Congress would intensify its campaign in the Old City and the entire schedule would be announced soon. He said padayatra, street corner meetings and public meetings would be organised in all the municipal divisions of Old City.