Venkaiah Slams State For Inaction Against Owaisi

BJP senior leader M Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday slammed the state government for not taking action against MIM floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi for allegedly making provocative speeches.

Addressing a press conference here, Venkaiah Naidu said that Akbaruddin Owaisi has addressed a series of public meetings in Adilabad, Nizamabad and Anantapur while repeating his provocative remarks against a particular community. However, even after 10 days, the state government has failed to take any action against him. He said that the government's inaction has forced people to knock the doors of the judiciary.

Venkaiah Naidu said that MIM leaders were also involved in the attacks on the Police Commissioner's office, GHMC Headquarters, junior doctors in Niloufer Hospital, and an attempt to murder controversial author Taslima Nasreen. He said that despite registration of cases, no further action was taken in most of the cases against the MIM leaders.

Referring to Akbaruddin Owaisi's speeches, he said that the BJP has been demanding action not for the political reasons, but to ensure that MIM leaders were prevented from spreading communal hatred. Alleging that Akbaruddin Owaisi supported Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab, he said that such statements could not be tolerated by any Indian.

Stating that the MIM was not the representative party of Muslims, Venkaiah Naidu dubbed it as a secret wing of the Congress party which has been exploiting the sentiments of the minority community. When asked about the alleged provocative statements by VHP leader Praveen Togadia on December 12, he said that the police should have taken immediate action if the allegations against him were true. (INN)