HYDERABAD: Criticising Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy for describing AIMIM leaders, the Owaisi brothers, as “patriots”, BJP state president N Ramchander Rao on Friday alleged that the remarks were aimed at appeasing minority voters.
Addressing a press conference at the party state office here, Ramchander Rao said it was “shameful and surprising” that the chief minister was certifying the Owaisi brothers as patriots for political and vote-bank considerations. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah represented patriotism and questioned the rationale behind comparing the Owaisis with them.
“On what basis is Revanth Reddy giving the Owaisi brothers certificates of patriotism?” he asked.
He also demanded that Revanth and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi explain what they considered patriotism and where they drew its limits.
Ramchander Rao referred to past controversial remarks attributed to AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi and MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi, including Akbar’s statement asking the police to step aside for 15 minutes and his remarks on consuming beef. He questioned whether such statements were the reason the chief minister was now describing the Owaisi brothers as patriots.
He said patriotism meant respecting the national flag, national anthem and national song, which he described as symbols that unite the country. Referring to the singing of Vande Mataram in the Telangana Assembly, he alleged that none of the AIMIM MLAs, including Akbaruddin Owaisi, stood up while the song was being sung.
Calling it “ridiculous” to describe the Owaisi brothers as patriots, Ramchander Rao sarcastically asked whether Revanth believed that they had the same kind of patriotism towards Pakistan and China as Rahul Gandhi allegedly had.
He said it was welcome that Revanth had acknowledged the patriotism of Modi and Amit Shah, but alleged that giving “certificates of patriotism” to the Owaisi brothers amounted to an insult to patriotic citizens.
Ramchander Rao challenged the Congress to demonstrate its patriotism by ensuring that Vande Mataram was sung in its entirety at public forums and during legislative proceedings. He alleged that people in Telangana were opposed to what he called Revanth’s “appeasement politics” and said the chief minister was making such statements to please the Majlis.
