BJP's Amravati Lok Sabha candidate Navneet Rana launched a blistering attack on Akbaruddin Owaisi and his brother Asaduddin Owaisi in Hyderabad, saying if police were removed from duty for 15 seconds, the brothers "would not know from where they came and where they went".
Rana, who contested from Amravati in 2019 as an Independent, made the remark while campaigning for BJP Hyderabad candidate Madhavi Latha.
In 2013, Akbaruddin Owaisi stirred a row after he said that if the police were removed for 15 minutes, "we (Muslims) will finish 100 crore Hindus".
"The younger brother says remove the police for 15 minutes, then we'll show them what we can do. I want to tell them: Dear younger brother, 15 seconds police hata lo, dono ko pata nahin lagega ki wo kahan se aaya aur kidhar ko gaya (it might take you 15 minutes, but it will only take us 15 seconds. If the police are removed for 15 seconds, both the brothers will not know where they came from or where they went)," Rana said.
The BJP has pitted Madhavi Latha against four-time Lok Sabha MP and AIMIM chief, Asaduddin Owaisi from Hyderabad. Owaisi has represented the Hyderabad seat since 2004.
Reacting to Rana's remarks, Asaduddin Owaisi said, "I am telling PM Modi to give 15 seconds. Not 15 seconds, but take one hour. We are not scared, we also want to see how much humanity is left in you.
AIMIM leader Waris Pathan said Navneet Rana's statement indicated that she was going to lose the election in Amravati. Pathan also asked the Election Commission and police to take strict action.
"Navneet Rana has understood that she is going to lose the election in Amravati... She has got a shock and that is why she is saying all this. Why is there no action by the police or the Election Commission? There should be strict action. They (BJP) are attempting polarisation, communal disharmony."
AIMIM MP Imtiaz Jaleel refused to comment on Rana's remarks, saying, "We don't have time for nonsense."
Former Maharashtra Chief Minister and Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan accused the BJP of spreading hatred in society. "These people are poisoning the society... All the BJP leaders are doing this in the elections," he said
