Owaisi slams minister Kishan Reddy for linking terror to Hyderabad

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday criticized the newly- appointed Union Minister of State for Home Kishan Reddy for linking Hyderabad with terrorism and alleged that the BJP sees terrorists whereever Muslims live.

Talking to a newspaper, Reddy, MP from Secunderabad, had on Friday said: "Wherever in the county, a terrorist incident happens, its roots are in Hyderabad." He also called Hyderabad a terror safe zone.

Reacting to Reddy's statement, Owaisi said, "He has spoken in a disgraceful manner even before taking charge. Talking like this in an irresponsible manner does not suit a minister. But we expect them to talk like this because whereever they (BJP) see Muslims, they see terrorists."

"This is so unfortunate that in the last 5 years, NIA, RAW issued advisories that Hyderabad was turning into a terror hub," the Hyderabad parliamentarian said.

He also said that the BJP was jealous of the progress of Hyderabad, which is considered to be the second largest IT hub in the country.

"There is peace in Hyderabad. All religious ceremonies took place with peace and harmony here. This is the second largest software hub after Bengaluru. Why are they (BJP) so jealous of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh? They do not want to see Telangana grow," he said.

Owaisi took a dig at the central government over the high unemployment and poor economic growth and said that BJP's voters only care about what he called "lynching rate". "Yesterday, data on unemployment and GDP was released. It showed downfall. But Modi's voter demands that keep the lynching rate at 5-6 per cent even if there is no employment," he stated.

He said that Telangana has a composite culture and BJP would fail in its attempt to make inroads in the state.

Owaisi had on Friday said that Muslims are free to follow their faith and visit mosques and should not be worried about the BJP's return to power as the Constitution guarantees freedom of religion to every citizen.