‘Our ancestors did jihad against British, yours wrote love letters’: Owaisi attacks Fadnavis over ‘vote jihad ’ remark

Lok Sabha MP Asaduddin Owaisi on Sunday attacked Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis over his ‘vote jihad’ remarks, saying that the BJP leader’s ideological ancestors wrote ‘love letters’ to the British instead of fighting them.

Earlier on Saturday, Fadnavis had claimed that ‘vote jihad’ had started in poll-bound Maharashtra, which should be countered by a ‘dharma yuddha’ of votes.

Maharashtra assembly elections will take place on November 20 and votes will be counted on November 23.

Reacting to his statement, Owaisi said, “Our ancestors did jihad against Britishers 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.”

He claimed the ‘dharmayuddha-jihad’ remarks amounted to poll code violation. “From where did ‘vote jihad and dharmayuddha’ come in democracy? You purchased MLAs; should we call you a thief?” the Hyderabad MP questioned.

He said, “While Fadnavis talks about (vote) jihad, his hero was writing ‘love letters’ to the British, whereas our freedom fighters did not negotiate with foreign rulers.”

“We gave the method of fighting against the British. He (Fadnavis) said ‘vote jihad’ after they (BJP) didn’t get votes in Malegaon (during Lok Sabha election). When they fail to get votes, they call it jihad. They lost in Ayodhya. How did that happen?” questioned Owaisi.

“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.

Referring to the controversy surrounding Hindutva seer Ramgiri Maharaj’s comments, Owaisi reiterated that any insults to the Prophet would not be tolerated.

He also called on people to vote on November 20, adding, “Our victory in Aurangabad will be honoured by the people of India.”

Owaisi made these remarks during a public meeting in the Jinsi area of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, where he campaigned for AIMIM candidates Imtiaz Jaleel (Aurangabad East) and Naser Siddiqui (Aurangabad Central) in the upcoming assembly elections.