AIMIM leader urges CM to shift shops around the temple elsewhere.
Hyderabad: All India Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) legislature party leader Akbaruddin Owaisi has asked Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) for grant of government funds for development of a century old Mahankali temple at Laldarwaja in the Old City of Hyderabad, thus raising eyebrows among political circles.
Akbaruddin Owaisi, younger brother of party president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi, is known for his rabble rousing speeches at Muslim gatherings and was even arrested and sent to jail for three weeks under the charges of hate speech in 2013. Owaisi looks after the party affairs in Hyderabad and now leader of opposition in the Assembly with seven MLAs.
Owaisi, who met Chief Minister KCR on 9 February for a meeting to finalise candidates for the State Information Commission, submitted a memorandum seeking Rs 10 crore funds from the government for the expansion and development of Mahankali temple, at Laldarwaja.
The AIMIM leader urged the Chief Minister to shift the shops around the temple elsewhere and allot around 800 sq yards for their relocation.
Alongside, Owaisi also asked the CM to grant another Rs 3 crore for an old masjid at Afjulgunj, also in the Old City for its development and improvement in facilities. Owaisi in his memorandum devoted most attention to the temple development and reminded the CM that he visited it during the separate statehood agitation and offered a “Golden Bonam” (a food vessel) as part of the tradition.
“Every year around one lakh devotees visit this Kali temple and they suffer because of lack of proper space and facilities. I request the government to see that the temple was developed on a large scale and facilities for visitors and devotees should be improved,” Owaisi mentioned in his memorandum. He suggested an alternate site nearby the area for shifting the shopkeepers and vendors.
Though AIMIM is not against to temples anywhere in the Old City, this is the first time that Owaisis particularly asking for funds for expansion of a temple. Very recently, AIMIM was held responsible for destruction of some Hindu temples in Bhinsa town of Adilabad district. AIMIM won the municipality of Bhinsa chairman post with the help of ruling TRS.
Not surprisingly, Chief Minister KCR has immediately accepted the demands of Owaisi and directed Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar to grant necessary funds for both the temple and masjid. The Chief Minister also conceded the demand of Owaisi for an Information Commissioner post out of the five cleared on t he day. MIM activist Dr Mohammad Ameer Hussain was appointed to the post.
This gesture on the part of Owaisi urging the government funds for a temple is considered to be part of the party’s stand to unite Dalits, OBCs and Muslims against the growing influence of BJP at every level. This Mahankali Temple is mostly visited by Dalits and OBCs, who dominate the Old City population. The annual Bonalu festival, held in the months of July or August, begins from this temple.
After Asaduddin Owaisi has announced that his party would work shoulder-to shoulder with other sections of Hindus like SC/STs and OBCs, there are efforts to woo them in a sustained manner. Besides allocating reserved seats to these sections, the party now would also fight for the issues that concern them, said sources from AIMIM.
“Our leader Asaduddin Owaisi has made it clear that ours’ is not only a Muslims party, we work for others too, especially the depressed classes of Hindus and fight against the BJP’s communal agenda. For this we are re-working our agenda and taking up issues that concern them too,” said a senior functionary of AIMIM.
Now Asaduddin Owaisi is leading weekly protests in Hyderabad against CAA and NRC where the national flags and copies of the constitution are displayed. This strategy is helping the protesters to attract youth cutting across religious lines. Now, the MIM leadership expects to appeal to SCs and OBCs of the Old City through this Mahankali temple expansion activity.
Chief Minister KCR, too, has his own interest in this activity as ruling TRS is expected to benefit politically in the upcoming Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (CHMC) elections, slated to held early next year. TRS needs the support of AIMIM to win this prestigious urban body and granting funds to Mahankali temple would blunt the BJP’s charge of TRS appeasing the “communal” MIM.