A war of one-upmanship seems to be going on between the ruling TRS and the BJP in Telangana. The BJP is hell-bent on cornering the TRS Government by raking up the controversial statement of MIM's motor-mouth MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi, while the TRS wants to salvage the MIM-TRS relationship by going easy on the MIM MLA.
Akbaruddin repeated the infamous '15-minute threat' once again in a recent speech in Karimnagar on 23. The last time he made such comments in Nirmal and that landed him in prison for over a month. The BJP took up the issue and lodged a complaint immediately on the same day. But, the police did not book any case against Akbaruddin Owaisi. To add to it, Karimnagar commissioner of police Kamalasan Reddy even gave a clean chit to Owaisi and said that there was nothing inflammatory in the statement. The TRS government thought that would be the end of the chapter.
But, the BJP Karimnagar city president Beti Mahender Reddy filed a case with the court by appending the clips of Owaisi's speech. Now, the court has ordered that a case be registered against Akbaruddin under sections 153-A (wanton attack on a religion), 153-B (harming national integration) and 506 (using threats and criminal intimidation) of IPC and also under 156(3) (for proper investigation) of the CrPC. Among these Section 506 is a non-bailable offence. The court also felt that Akbaruddin's speeches were threatening one particular religion.
Now, it remains to be seen as to how TRS saves its best buddy and how the BJP capitalises on this issue. Remember it is in Karimnagar that KCR made his famed 'Hindugallu Bondugallu' statement and lost the seat to the BJP's firebrand Hindu leader Bandi Sanjay. KCR sure does not want this to be repeated again. But at the same time, he knows that it is the Muslim vote that tilted the balance in his favour. So, itâs going to be a tightrope walk for the TRS.
Akbaruddin repeated the infamous '15-minute threat' once again in a recent speech in Karimnagar on 23. The last time he made such comments in Nirmal and that landed him in prison for over a month. The BJP took up the issue and lodged a complaint immediately on the same day. But, the police did not book any case against Akbaruddin Owaisi. To add to it, Karimnagar commissioner of police Kamalasan Reddy even gave a clean chit to Owaisi and said that there was nothing inflammatory in the statement. The TRS government thought that would be the end of the chapter.
But, the BJP Karimnagar city president Beti Mahender Reddy filed a case with the court by appending the clips of Owaisi's speech. Now, the court has ordered that a case be registered against Akbaruddin under sections 153-A (wanton attack on a religion), 153-B (harming national integration) and 506 (using threats and criminal intimidation) of IPC and also under 156(3) (for proper investigation) of the CrPC. Among these Section 506 is a non-bailable offence. The court also felt that Akbaruddin's speeches were threatening one particular religion.
Now, it remains to be seen as to how TRS saves its best buddy and how the BJP capitalises on this issue. Remember it is in Karimnagar that KCR made his famed 'Hindugallu Bondugallu' statement and lost the seat to the BJP's firebrand Hindu leader Bandi Sanjay. KCR sure does not want this to be repeated again. But at the same time, he knows that it is the Muslim vote that tilted the balance in his favour. So, itâs going to be a tightrope walk for the TRS.