Owaisi makes final appeal to Sambhajinagar voters

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: AIMIM president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday addressed a public meeting at Kat Kat Gate, urging people vote for the AIMIM's kite symbol on polling day. The party's state president and former MP Imtiaz Jaleel gave the slogan of "Hindu Muslim Ekta Zindabad" and appealed to people across faiths to vote for his party's candidatesAs campaigning ended for the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Municipal Corporation elections, Owaisi, in his final appeal to electors, said a vote is proof of citizenship. He called for a peaceful election, adding that people knew how to respond if anyone attempted to create trouble. He said BJP, Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress must be politically defeated. He thanked the women who prayed for him and the youths who welcomed him during the campaign.Touching upon other local issues, Owaisi warned former AIMIM members contesting against the party. He accused them of betraying not just the Majlis, but the people of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and their sacrifices. "Even Owaisi is not bigger than the Majlis or the unity of this city," he said, asking rebels to withdraw from the contest or face defeat.He also promised that after AIMIM councillors are elected, he would personally visit the city every two to three months to review ward-level work. He listed sanitation, roads, water supply, drainage lines, schools, hospitals and protection of small traders and hawkers under the National Hawkers Act as key priorities, and said elected representatives must work with humility and not remain inactive after winning.Earlier in his speech, Owaisi attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and national security advisor Ajit Doval over their recent references to history. Owaisi said he wanted to respond to two speeches delivered over the past two days — one by the Prime Minister at the Somnath temple, and another by NSA Doval. He said Modi spoke about the looting and destruction of Somnath by Mahmud Ghazni, which he described as a historical fact, but alleged that the PM failed to mention who aided Ghazni. Referring to remarks attributed to NSA Doval about "taking revenge on history", Owaisi said such an approach would imply attacking Central Asia or China to seek revenge on Huns and Kushans who ended the Gupta Empire, or even seeking revenge against Alexander the Great.