‘I Love Modi’ okay, but not ‘I Love Muhammad’: AIMIM chief Owaisi
Hyderabad (PTI): AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has questioned the restrictions on expressing love for Prophet Muhammad, saying it is allowed to say 'I love Modi' in this country, but not 'I love Muhammad'.
Referring to an FIR registered against some individuals in UP for allegedly installing boards with “I Love Mohammad” during a Eid-e-Milad-un-Nabi procession, the Hyderabad Lok Sabha MP wondered which direction this country is headed.
“Even if we want to go to our Mosque, they want to snatch it away. One can say I love Modi, but can't say I love Mohammad. Where are you planning to land," he asked in a meeting on Thursday.
The AIMIM leader clarified that there would be no objection if somone displays posters praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He reaffirmed his identity as a Muslim, saying he follows Prophet Muhammad.
The controversy erupted on September 9, when the police in Kanpur registered a case against 24 people for allegedly installing boards with 'I Love Muhammad' written on them during an religious procession on September 4.
Bareilly in UP which witnessed tensions on September 26, when locals and police clashed in the heart of the city following Friday prayers after the cancellation of a proposed protest over the "I Love Muhammad" posters. Several people were injured in the clashes.
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Kolkata Port: Decline in number of voters during SIR brings in uncertainty in TMC bastion
Kolkata (PTI): A sharp decline in the number of voters following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has injected an element of uncertainty into the Kolkata Port Assembly constituency, considered a safe seat for the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC).
The electorate in the south Kolkata constituency has dropped from 2.36 lakh in the 2021 Assembly polls to around 1.75 lakh, a fall of nearly 26 per cent, prompting political parties to closely assess its potential impact on the April 29 polling.
The TMC re-nominated senior minister and Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim, who has held the seat for two consecutive terms, while the BJP fielded Rakesh Singh. The Congress nominated Aquib Gulzar, and the CPI(M) put up Faiyaz Ahmad Khan, making it a four-cornered contest.
Kolkata Port, part of the Kolkata Dakshin parliamentary constituency, comprises dock areas, old business districts and densely populated neighbourhoods. Muslim voters form a significant segment of the electorate, alongside traders, transport workers and working-class Hindu families.
The reduction in voter numbers has prompted party workers across formations to scrutinise the revised rolls booth-wise to identify deletions and assess whether specific localities have been affected.
Singh’s candidature has added a twist to the contest. He had earlier contested against Hakim as a Congress candidate but is now in the fray on a BJP ticket.
Hakim won the seat in 2016 by 26,548 votes, defeating Singh, and increased his margin significantly to 68,554 votes in 2021, polling over one lakh votes.
While the TMC has expressed confidence in retaining the seat, opposition parties have raised concerns over the voter list revision, alleging that names of genuine voters have been removed.
“People here know who has stood by them. Elections are decided by trust,” Hakim told PTI during a campaign event.
Singh claimed several residents had complained about missing names in the rolls, stressing the need for transparency. The CPI(M) nominee also said voters in several areas had raised similar concerns.
The constituency has remained a difficult terrain for the opposition in recent elections.
Civic issues such as sanitation, traffic congestion and declining business activity in traditional markets also feature in the campaign in the constituency, though the revised voter list has emerged as a key talking point.
Polling in the constituency will be held in the second phase on April 29, with counting scheduled for May 4.
