All Hell Would've Broken Loose Had Waris Pathan Made 15-Second Remark, Would've Been Jailed: Owaisi

Hyderabad: Taking a potshot at BJP leader Navneet Rana for her 15-second remark, which was made as a response to AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi's brother Akbaruddin's 2013 remark, the AIMIM Chief called names to the BJP leader. 

Owaisi, on Thursday, in an audio clip, could be heard saying that Rana was 'traumatised.' He said, "Navneet Rana has clearly understood that she's losing (2024 Lok Sabha polls) against Anandraj Ambedkar, which our party had backed. She's traumatised and unable to bear the jolt (of losing) hence she's speaking nonsense." 

He further said, "She (Rana) said remove the cops for 15 seconds. What are you (Rana) going to do? Are you going to kill the Muslims? What are the cops doing? Why no action or probe? What is the EC doing? Are such statements allowed to be made as per the EC? I would want the EC to take cognizance of the statement and take strict action against her. The BJP has stooped so low; that they're abusing Muslims, polarising the situation and spreading hatred and communal disharmony."

Owaisi claimed, "The BJP is doing this as it has realised its 'Ab ki Baar 200-250 paar.' What Rana said, had AIMIM leader Waris Pathan said the same, by now he would have been incarcerated. An FIR would have been filed against him. Why is everyone silent now?"

In a scathing attack against Asaduddin Owaisi and his brother Akbaruddin, Rana, earlier in the day, said if police were removed from duty for '15 seconds, the brothers would not know from where they came and where they went.'

Rana's blistering attack came in response to AIMIM MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi's controversial speech in 2013 that it would take them only '15 minutes' to balance the 'Hindu- Muslim ratio' in the country if the police were removed.

"The younger one (Akbarauddin) says, remove the police for 15 minutes and we will show what we can do. Let me tell the younger one, you will take 15 minutes, it will be only 15 seconds for us. If you remove police for 15 seconds, you won't know where you came from and where you went away," said Rana, the BJP's candidate from Maharashtra's Amravati Lok Sabha seat. 

Rana shared a video clip of her making the comments on her 'X' page.

Rana was campaigning in support of BJP's Hyderabad Lok Sabha candidate K Madhavi Latha and others in Telangana on Wednesday.

Asked about her comments, Asaduddin said he would like to tell Prime Minister Narendra Modi to give even one hour.

"I tell Modi ji - give her 15 seconds. What will you do?...Give her 15 seconds, give her 1 hour. We too want to see if you have any humanity left in you. Who is scared? We are ready...If someone is making open call for it, then so be it...PM is yours, RSS is yous, everything is yours. Do it. Who is stopping you...Tell us where we have to come, we will be there. Do it." Owaisi told ANI. (with PTI inputs)