Will attend Marathwada liberation day next year: AIMIM MP

After drawing criticism for not attending Marathwada Liberation Day function here two days ago, All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) MP Imtiyaz Jaleel said he would attend it next year.

Marathwada Liberation Day is celebrated in Maharashtra on September 17 to mark Marathwada region's integration with India after the Indian Army entered Hyderabad and merged the Nizam's state with rest of the country on this day in 1948.

Jaleel, Aurangabad MP and state AIMIM chief, had skipped the event during the last four years too, inviting criticism that AIMIM does not celebrate the liberation day because of its historical links with the Nizam's rule.

"I was in Mumbai (on September 17) to deal with various developmental issues of my constituency. Next year I will attend Marathwada Mukti-sangram flag hoisting and will hoist tricolor, if I get a chance," Jaleel told reporters.

"Opposition leaders criticized me, calling me 'Razakar'. But these leaders should also tell what is their contribution to development of Marathwada though they were in power for long," he added.

"Our party was led by Qasim Razvi at one time, but we don't follow in his footsteps. When he fled to Pakistan, Razvi asked our ancestors to go with him. But our ancestors refused as they loved their motherland," the AIMIM MP added.

Razvi, founder of the extremist Razakar militia of the Hyderbad state, was opposed to its merger with India.