Navneet Rana's ‘will take 15 seconds…’ warning to Akbaruddin Owaisi. AIMIM responds

BJP leader Navneet Rana during a press conference.

Bharatiya Janata Party leader Navneet Rana, referring to a provocative statement by All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen leader Akbaruddin Owaisi from 2013, issued a veiled warning to the Owaisi brothers in their stronghold Hyderabad saying “it would take us 15 seconds if the police were removed or made to stand down”.

AIMIM leader Waris Pathan said Navneet Rana’s statement indicates that she is going to lose the Lok Sabha election in Amravati. At a meeting in 2013, Akbaruddin Owaisi had purportedly warned “100 crore Hindus” that his community would show what it could do if the police were withdrawn for “15 minutes”.

Invoking the AIMIM leader’s statement, Navneet Rana, who is contesting the Lok Sabha election on a BJP ticket this time, said, “The younger brother says ‘remove the police for 15 minutes so that we can show them what we can do’. I want to tell the younger brother (Akbaruddin) that it might take you 15 minutes, but it will only take us 15 seconds…it will take us all of 15 seconds if we come to the forefront.”

Navneet Rana was campaigning for Madhavi Latha, the BJP’s candidate who has been fielded against sitting MP Asaduddin Owaisi from Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituency. Asaduddin has been the elected representative from Hyderabad since 2004. He was previously elected as an MLA twice in the erstwhile undivided Andhra Pradesh.

Reacting to the BJP leader’s remarks, Waris Pathan said, “Navneet Rana has understood that she is going to lose the election in Amravati. Anand Raj Ambedkar, who has our party’s support, is going to win. She is shock, and that is why she is saying all this. Why there has been no action by police or the Election Commission yet? They (BJP) are attempting polarisation and communal disharmony.”

Navneet Rana’s ‘Pakistan’ remarks as she campaigns for Madhavi Latha

Calling Madhavi Latha, a “lioness,” Navneet Rana said the former will stop Hyderabad from turning into Pakistan and will work for the development of the state.

“The manner in which Madhavi Latha is contesting like a lioness, on a family bastion seat and even the Congress is fielding a dummy candidate to support AIMIM – I feel Owaisi should contest from somewhere else and see what is real strength. The kind of support that Madhavi Latha is getting from people who are with India – all of them will vote for Madhavi Latha this time…I hope that when voting happens, Madhavi Latha will definitely stop Hyderabad from turning into Pakistan and work for the development of Hyderabad through Parliament,” Amravati MP told reporters on Wednesday in Hyderabad.

When asked about Rana’s statement, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi said, “In 2014, Narendra Modi alighted at the home of Nawaz Sharif all of a sudden…What was that? They feel all Muslims in India are Pakistanis. We have to defeat this RSS ideology. They hate India’s pluralism and diversity…”

(With inputs from PTI, ANI)

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