Lok Sabha Polls 2024: Rebuked For 'Shooting Arrow' At Mosque, BJP Candidate Says...

Kompella Madhavi Latha, BJP candidate against Asaduddin Owaisi in Hyderabad, stirred a controversy on Thursday after a video of her gesturing shooting an immaginery arrow towards a mosque was widely shared on social media. The video drew outrage and condemnation on X, after which the BJP leader claimed that she was merely gesturing shooting "arrow towards the sky" and accused the opposition leaders of trying to divert people's attention.

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, however, described the BJP leader of trying to disrupt the peace in Telangana for political reasons. "BJP - RSS Telangana aur Hyderabad ke aman ko kharab karna chahti hai, Telangana ki Prosperity ke liye Peace zaroori hai aur mujhe yaqeen hai ke 13 May ke din Telangana aur Hyderabad ki awam Telangana ke peace ke dushman (BJP aur RSS) ke khilaf vote degi," he said.

The BJP leader made the gesture while riding atop a vehicle during the Ram Navami procession near Siddiamber Bazar crossroads in the old city on Wednesday. The procession was part of the annual event organised by BJP MLA T Raja Singh on the occasion of Ram Navami.

"Yesterday (April 17), on the occasion of Ram Navami, I was gesturing shooting an (imaginary) arrow towards the sky. I released that arrow towards a building, that's it. Where did the mosque come from? These people (referring to AIMIM) have always resorted to such hateful speeches to sideline the BJP leaders here and divert people's attention. They have become experts in inciting the youth. This is a conspiracy against us because we work well with both Hindu and Muslim brothers," Latha said.

Latha's followers defended her saying that the BJP candidate was doing the same gesture for several minutes during the procession and even before the mosque came into sight.

BJP Refuses To Even Mention Word 'Minorities' In Its Manifesto: Owaisi

The AIMIM chief had earlier targeted the saffron party of refusing to mention the word "minorities" in its manifesto.

"I have seen the BJP’s advertisement on April 17 in various newspapers. Please see when they talk about giving loans or help to start a business from the government, it says ST and OBC. The BJP is even refusing to mention word minorities forget about Muslims. The word minorities is mentioned in the Constitution of India and the BJP has a great hatred for the word M," Owaisi told PTI Videos on Wednesday.

"They have not mentioned the word minorities. They say scholarships will be given to marginalised communities," he said.

He claimed that there are highest number of school dropouts among Dalits and Muslims and that the BJP has deliberately ensured that the dropout rate is increased in the Muslim community.

Alleging that there is a high unemployment rate in the country due to lack of jobs, increased hatred towards minorities and that there is threat to the Constitution, the Hyderabad Lok Sabha member appealed to people to keep in mind the issues before they vote for any party.

Owaisi said the BJP might talk about making the country the third-largest economy in the world, but one has to consider the per capita income when it comes to growth.