New Delhi, Mar 16 (PTI) The BJP on Monday launched a sharp attack on Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy for participating in a state-sponsored Iftar gathering in Hyderabad, accusing the Congress of indulging in “minority appeasement” and advising it to rename itself the “Islamic National Caliphate”.
BJP National Spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said Reddy should call himself “the chief minister of Muslims” The remarks came amid political exchanges over Reddy’s participation in the Iftar event on Sunday, where he was seen with AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi.
“Revanth Reddy should call himself not the chief minister of Telangana but the chief minister of Muslims, and his party’s name should be changed from INC — Indian National Congress — to Islamic National Caliphate,” Poonawalla said.
Another national spokesperson of the BJP, Prem Shukla, called Reddy “Hazrat”, accusing the Telangana chief minister of minority appeasement and “hurting” the sentiments of Hindus.
“Telangana CM ‘Hazrat’ Reddy participated in an Iftar party on Sunday and shared dates with AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi. This is the same Owaisi whom the Congress calls the BJP’s B-team,” Shukla said at a press conference.
The BJP spokesperson also targeted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over the issue, asking him to clarify whether it is his party’s official position “to appease Muslims by insulting Hindu deities”.
“Gandhi should answer whether it is the official policy of the Congress to hurt Hindu sentiments through chief ministers appointed by the party who repeatedly indulge in such acts.
“Is Reddy treading the party line? Hindus should understand that the Congress is intent on betraying them and content with Muslim appeasement,” Shukla said at the BJP headquarters here.
Poonawalla alleged that the Congress has repeatedly made statements suggesting that Muslims have the first right over resources and that the party was now taking pride in Muslim reservation, which, he claimed, was against the views of B R Ambedkar.
“At times they say Congress equals Muslims; sometimes they say Muslims support them because they provide them security, and now they take pride in Muslim reservation, which is against Ambedkar’s views,” he said.
Claiming that the Congress is running a “vote-bank shop”, Poonawalla accused it of engaging in what he described as “competitive appeasement politics” to outdo the AIMIM.
“Sometimes they form alliances with Owaisi, and sometimes, to appear an even bigger ‘bhaijaan’ than Owaisi, they wear an even bigger cap of competitive appeasement politics,” he said.
Poonawalla also questioned the Congress government in Telangana over its election promises.
“Have they fulfilled the promises they made to the poor youth, farmers and women? They do not speak about that. Instead, they attack the Hindu faith and engage in appeasement politics. This has become their model. This is a Maoist, Muslim League-style Congress which talks about the Constitution but actually runs a vote-bank shop. All they want is ‘bhaijaan, bhaijaan’,” he alleged.
Shukla too accused the Telangana chief minister of repeatedly making remarks that hurt Hindu sentiments and said that Reddy appears to find “saviours in the Muslim community”.
“For Reddy, who insults Hindu deities at every step, the Muslim community appears to be a saviour, and he seeks their blessings. Earlier, he stated that Muslims mean Congress and Congress means Muslims, crossing all limits of appeasement,” the BJP leader alleged.
Speaking at the event on Sunday, Reddy said the Congress government has accorded top priority to the welfare and development of the Muslim community in the state and stressed the need to strengthen communal harmony.
“Ramzan is the holy month of spiritual purification. We must foster brotherhood and live together in communal harmony,” the Telangana chief minister had said, while alleging that some political forces were attempting to create divisions among people.
Several ministers of the Telangana government were present at the event along with Hyderabad MP Owaisi and other leaders. PTI ADI ADI NSD NSD
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