Shah's Hyderabad Visit Sparks Poll Buzz in Telangana
Political heat is building in Hyderabad ahead of the arrival of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The city's roads and squares are filled with posters promoting the BJP's 'Loktantra Bachao, Arajakta Hatao' campaign.
The programme is seen as the BJP's answer to the Congress and INDIA bloc rally held at Ramlila Maidan on Sunday. According to the party, the campaign is a nationwide effort to counter what it describes as false narratives by Congress about the SIR and the Election Commission.
Rekha Sharma, a BJP Rajya Sabha member, said the march is part of a country-wide series of events. She said Shah's Hyderabad programme is the latest in that chain.
According to Sharma, Shah's visit to Hyderabad in Telangana is aimed at launching the party's election campaign and announcing that the BJP will form the next government in the state. She urged people to remember the day and time of this claim, saying the party would revisit it after the next polls.
In Hyderabad, BJP leader Manmeet Singh said Congress was spreading a wave of falsehood across India. He said the BJP's Maha Padyatra was aimed at educating people about the facts and called Congress's approach a politics of lies.
BJP spokesperson Mahesh Namani detailed the rally's organisers, naming the Centre Society for Democracy and the People for Democracy forum. He said the event would be a strong response to statements made by Rahul Gandhi on the SIR.
Namani mocked the Ramlila Maidan gathering, calling it a drama. He said Hyderabad was witnessing a real show of public support, with lakhs of people arriving and traffic jams across the city. He also questioned the turnout at the Congress event, saying 28,000 chairs had been arranged but there were not enough people to occupy them.
He pointed out that the programme is taking place in Hyderabad, where Congress holds power in the state, and said Shah would explain how the party had damaged democracy.
Namani also referred to Owaisi's statements about Hyderabad and said Shah's speech would be delivered in the heart of the city. He noted that Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel is credited with bringing Hyderabad into the Union, and said residents and visitors from across Telangana were coming to hear the Home Minister.