Breaking from the tradition, Majlis president Asaduddin Owaisi filed his nomination for the Hyderabad Parliament seat without much fanfare on Thursday. There was no procession, firecrackers or drum beats.
Owaisi, who is seeking re-election for the third time, drove from the party office in Darussalam to the Hyderabad Collectorate accompanied by party joint secretary Husain Anwar and a couple of corporators.
He filed four sets of nominations before district Collector Mukesh Kumar Meena, who is the Returning Officer for Hyderabad Parliamentary constituency, around 2 p.m. There was slight delay as some corrections had to be made.
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Later speaking to presspersons, Mr. Owaisi expressed confidence that he would come out victorious. He thanked the people of Hyderabad for reposing faith in him. The Majlis had succeeded in developing the city to some extent, but a lot remained to be done. He admitted that the city was faced with many problems, including water scarcity.
The agitations over bifurcation of the State had halted the progress of Hyderabad as uncertainty gripped. Now that the Telangana State was going to be formed, it was necessary to seek more investments for development of the city.
To a question, Mr. Owaisi ruled out alliance with any party. He said the Majlis did not have any manifesto as its work was its identity. Parties which come out with manifestos only deceived the people. He said over the years, the Majlis had emerged as the voice of the weaker sections across the country. He criticised the BJP for talking about majoritanism when democracy promised equal opportunity and participation to all.
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“This kind of talk is dangerous to national integrity. We will give a fitting reply to the communal forces”, the Majlis leader remarked.
He took strong exceptions to the handing over of land and order to the Governor and said his party would file a case in the Supreme Court soon.