Owaisi to hold rally in Nagpur on February 28; Sena, BJP opposes

MIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi will address a public meeting here on February 28, with the Shiv Sena and the BJP demanding a cancellation of permission for the rally.

This will be Owaisi's first public meeting in Maharashtra's Vidarbha region. He earlier addressed rallies in Mumbai and Pune as his party All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM) is trying to get a foothold in the state.

Owaisi, the Lok Sabha MP from Hyderabad, will address the public at a ground in Asi Nagar area here for which necessary permissions have been taken from the city police, a party release said today.

The public meeting is being organised to strengthen the organisation in the city and adjoining areas, MIM's local unit spokesman Shakil Patel said.

Meanwhile, a delegation of local Shiv Sena leaders, led by its city unit president Satish Harde, today met Joint Commissioner of Police and handed over a memorandum demanding cancellation of permission for the rally.

Local BJP MLA Vikas Kumbhare, in whose constituency the rally is scheduled to be held, has also demanded cancellation of permission for the meeting in a letter to the police.