Hyderabad: Amid allegations of vote fraud in Hyderabad, Congress leader Mohammed Feroz Khan on Friday, August 15, challenged All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president, Asaduddin Owaisi, to take an oath on the Quran at the Makkah Masjid.
Addressing the media, Khan said that the Hyderabad MP claimed there was no vote fraud during general elections for the Hyderabad Parliamentary seat or in the Nampally constituency during the Telangana Assembly elections in 2023. “I challenge him to take an oath on the Quran, as his father did when similar allegations were made against him,” Khan said.
The Congress leader said if Owaisi stands by his claim after taking the oath, then he would apologise to the MP and stop raising the issue.
Khan’s challenge comes days after Owaisi refuted allegations of bogus voting during the Telangana Assembly and General elections.
Asaduddin Owaisi’s remark
Asaduddin Owaisi, on August 12, addressed a press conference saying, “In case a candidate loses four elections, and still blames the AIMIM, then our party is really strong.”
He said that the Election Commission of India prepares the voter lists for all elections. “The ECI gives time to raise objections over the voter list. Why didn’t he raise objections then? Why didn’t he check the voter list released by the election commission?” he asked.
Referring to Khan, Owaisi said, “Such people suddenly wake up during election time and then go into slumber after elections are done.”
The Hyderabad MP further said that Khan had previously raised the issue, but no relief was granted by the Telangana High Court. “He alleged that they were clusters from where people went and cast bogus votes. However, the Election Commission investigations revealed the voters were genuine,” he said.
The AIMIM president said, “By making such allegations, Khan is betraying the people who voted for Congress. When they question the voter list, they are also questioning the citizenship, just like the special intensive revision of the voter list.”
Feroz Khan alleges bogus voting
On August 12, Khan alleged large-scale bogus voting in Hyderabad and blamed the AIMIM and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), accusing them of working hand-in-hand.
Khan claimed that duplicate voter IDs were created and new bogus votes were added to the electoral rolls in Nampally. “We even caught three individuals casting illegal votes, they were identified as Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi’s men,” he alleged.
Khan said that despite multiple complaints to the Election Commission, no action was taken. “Revenue officials deployed 100 staff for voter list scrutiny, but within ten days, they vanished. After five years of struggle, only 10 percent of the bogus votes were removed, and that too mostly of deceased persons,” he alleged.
