Our ancestors did jihad against British, yours penned love letters: Owaisi to Fadnavis

AIMIM (All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen) chief Asaduddin Owaisi has targeted Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis over his "vote jihad" remarks, claiming the BJP leader's (ideological) ancestors wrote "love letters" to the British instead of fighting them.

Addressing a gathering on Sunday, Owaisi also alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'ek hai to safe hai' slogan goes against the ethos of diversity.

Owaisi was addressing a public election meeting in the Jinsi area of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad) in support of AIMIM candidates Imtiaz Jaleel (Aurangabad East) and Naser Siddiqui (Aurangabad Central) ahead of the 20 November Maharashtra assembly elections.

On Saturday, Fadnavis had claimed that 'vote jihad' had begun in poll-bound Maharashtra, which should be countered by the 'dharma yudh (holy war)' of the election, citing the BJP's narrow loss in the Dhule Lok Sabha constituency in the 2024 general elections.

Countering him, Owaisi said, "Our ancestors did jihad against the British and Fadnavis is now teaching us about jihad. (PM) Narendra Modi, (Union minister) Amit Shah, and Devendra Fadnavis together cannot defeat me in a debate."

Owaisi also claimed the 'dharma yudh-jihad' remarks amounted to a poll code violation. "From where did 'vote jihad and dharma yudh' come into democracy? You purchased MLAs; should we call you a thief?" the Hyderabad MP questioned.

"While Fadnavis talks about (vote) jihad, his hero was writing 'love letters' to the British, whereas our freedom fighters did not negotiate with the foreign rulers," he said. "We provided the method of fighting the British. He (Fadnavis) said 'vote jihad' after they (BJP) didn't get votes in Malegaon (in the general elections). When they fail to get votes, they call it jihad. They lost in Ayodhya. How did that happen?" Owaisi questioned.

"Our ancestors did jihad against British, not yours. Fadnavis, whose ancestors were writing love letters to the British, will teach us jihad?" he added in a veiled attack on Hindutva ideologues revered by the BJP, among them Veer Savarkar, who wrote letters seeking pardon to the British administration from Andaman's Cellular Jail.

Modi says 'ek hai to safe hai' because they (BJP) want to end the diversity of this country, the AIMIM leader said, adding that the Maratha community had been betrayed by rulers who failed to give them reservation.

Owaisi also said many industrial projects went to Gujarat from Maharashtra, but Fadnavis showed no courage to stop them. "Was he afraid of Narendra Modi?" he asked.

Referring to a controversy over Hindutva seer Ramgiri Maharaj's statements, Owaisi said remarks against the Prophet won't be tolerated.

He appealed to people to come out to vote on 20 November. "Our victory in Aurangabad will be saluted by the people of India," he added.