Congress condemns Bandi’s remarks against Muslims; to lodge police complaints

Hyderabad: Accusing Telangana BJP President Bandi Sanjay of delivering a ‘highly objectionable and provocative’ speech against the Muslim community, the Congress party on Thursday demanded stern action against him.

“Bandi Sanjay delivered a hate speech in Karimnagar with the sole intention to provoke the minority community and spread communal hatred. Although people like Sanjay, who have zero IQ level and no knowledge of history and geography, should be ignored, his remarks cannot be taken lightly as he is desperately trying to incite communal violence”, Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) Minorities Department Chairman Shaik Abdullah Sohail said in a media statement today.

He also announced that the Chairmen of Congress Minority Departments in all 33 districts of Telangana has been asked to lodge a formal complaint against Bandi Sanjay in their respective districts.

Abdullah Sohail said that the Telangana BJP Chief knows nothing about Islam or Muslims in Telangana. Initially, he targeted 4% Muslim reservations and then the Urdu language. Now he is targeting the mosques by demanding the digging up of all masjids.

“His hatred for Muslims has reached a different level although it is aimed at deriving political benefits. He is making desperate attempts to draw the people’s attention by making highly provocative comments,” he said.

The Congress leader said that the Telangana police should’ve registered a case ‘suo motto’ against Bandi Sanjay for his hate speech. However, since TRS is a secret ally of the BJP, the State Police is acting as a mute spectator and taking no action.

He said that the Congress party would never allow the joint plan of BJP and TRS to disturb communal harmony to succeed. “We will launch a formal complaint against Bandi Sanjay. If the police refuse to register a case, we will approach the court seeking action,” he said.

He also ridiculed Bandi Sanjay’s allegations that mosques were built on ‘shivams. He said no mosque could be built on temple land or even encroached land. Therefore, Bandi Sanjay’s allegations were nothing but the figment of his weird imaginations.

“By repeatedly taking the name of AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi in his speeches, Sanjay is trying to endorse Owaisi as the sole Muslim leader. MIM is a non-entity outside the Old City of Hyderabad. Further, there is not a single seat in Hyderabad where MIM and BJP are direct competitors. The BJP leader is taking MIM’s name only to create a false impression that Owaisi was his main rival. This is a gameplan hatched by the TRS-BJP-MIM trio to divert people’s attention from the real problems like unemployment and rising inflation,” he alleged.

The Congress leader advised people belonging to all communities not to get provoked by the misleading statements of Bandi Sanjay or Asaduddin Owaisi.

He said both the leaders, under the directions of Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao, were trying to incite communal hatred by indulging in a fake war of words.

He said people should question BJP, TRS and MIM leaders about their failure to provide employment and control rising inflation.