Yogi Adityanath addressed a rally in Telangana on Sunday. (File)
Hitting back at Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's "Nizam" barb at him, AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi has said India is his father's country and no one is running away.
Addressing a poll rally on Sunday night, he also said Adityanath was speaking the language of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and that of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and he was ignorant about history.
The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief was reacting to Adityanath's comments at a rally in poll-bound Telangana that he would have to "run away" from Hyderabad, just like the Nizam, if the BJP came to power in the southern state.
"If the BJP forms the government in Telangana, I can tell you that Owaisi will have to run away, just like the Nizam was compelled to run away from Hyderabad.
"The BJP will give security to all, but will not allow those who spread anarchy," Adityanath had said.
Hitting back at him, Mr Asaduddin said, "Yogi says if the BJP comes to power in Telangana, Owaisi will be made to run away like the Nizam. The first thing, you (Adityanath) are zero in history. If you cannot read, ask the literate...
"Had you read (history), you would have known that the Nizam did not leave Hyderabad and Mir Osman Ali Khan was made the 'Raj Pramukh', and when there was a war with China, the same Nizam had given his gold. You are saying the Nizam had run away...he did not run away."
The Hyderabad MP added that if Adityanath was willing, he could come with him to the Nizam's grave and offer flowers.
"But will you come? You may ask to change the name of the grave also," he said, mocking Adityanath's plans to rename places in Uttar Pradesh.
"Yogi, you are a chief minister...speak like a chief minister...In your constituency, hundreds of children are dying every year due to encephalitis...There is no oxygen in the hospitals of Gorakhpur, you are not worried about that. You are coming here and talking about building walls of hatred...This is Narendra Modi and his party's language...and Narendra Modi's mentality, Asaduddin added.
Adityanath is a five-time former MP from Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh. He is currently a member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council.
The AIMIM chief also asserted that no one was running away.
"You talk about chasing away an MP. It is my religious belief that when Prophet Adam had descended on earth from paradise, he had come to Hindustan. This Hindustan is my father's country and no one can remove me from here.
"Hindustan mere abba ka mulk hai...Hindustan mere daddy ka mulk hai...Hindustan mere papa ka mulk hai...Hindustan mere pitaji ka mulk hai," he said.
"Will you drive me away?," Asaduddin asked.
"Uttar Pradesh chief minister, is this country yours? Not mine? For speaking against the BJP and Modi and criticising their policies, for speaking against the RSS...and for speaking on Yogi, will you throw me away from the country?.
"We feel pride in calling ourselves Hindustanis, but you say you will make Owaisi run away," he said.
"Allah will defeat Modi...Allah will insult Naidu (Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu)...Allah will defeat Rahul (Congress president Rahul Gandhi) and Allah will ensure the Majlis's victory," Asaduddin added.
The AIMIM chief's brother, Akbaruddin Owaisi, also criticised Adityanath over his remarks and said, "One more came...what kind of an attire does he wear...he became a chief minister by luck and he is saying like the Nizam, he will make Owaisi run away.
"Who are you? What is your status? Like you, 56 (a reference to Modi's 56-inch chest remark, made during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls) came and went away. Leave Owaisi...Owaisi's 1,000 (future) generations will stay in this country and fight it out with you. We will drive you away. We are not among those who run away."
"Did I run away? (Vijay) Mallya, Lalit Modi and (Mehul) Choksi ran away to London. If I was to run away, I would not have returned here from London.
"Did I come back from London or not?. Will I run away?...This country is not someone's father's property. This is my country and will always be mine and I will not leave Hyderabad," the MLA from Chandrayangutta said.
"If you have the courage, come to Hyderabad and we will show you how to run away," he added.
The 119-member Telangana Assembly will go to polls on December 7 and the results will be announced on December 11.