AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi launched a sharp attack on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh during a rally in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar on Monday, questioning whether any RSS leader was ever imprisoned for opposing British colonial rule. He specifically claimed that Sangh founder K B Hedgewar was jailed not for fighting against the British but for supporting the Khilafat movement, and accused the RSS of spreading hatred against Muslims while claiming to teach patriotism.

Owaisi highlighted the contributions of other figures to India’s freedom struggle, noting that socialist leader Yusuf Meherally from Mumbai coined powerful slogans such as “Quit India” and “Simon Go Back”. He criticised the RSS for allegedly failing to produce martyrs in the anti-colonial fight and accused its affiliates of distorting history to label Muslims as outsiders, particularly by raising false claims about Bangladeshi migrants in Maharashtra.

Addressing the upcoming municipal corporation elections on January 15, Owaisi dismissed BJP narratives about Bangladeshi presence in the region, asserting that any such migrants, if found, would indicate a failure of the Narendra Modi government’s border security and intelligence apparatus. He pointed out that despite complete control over police, intelligence, and border management, the government had not even completed a 10-km fence along the Bangladesh border.

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The AIMIM chief further alleged that the Modi government has shifted the responsibility of citizenship verification to the Election Commission, in violation of the Citizenship Act which assigns such authority to the Home Ministry. He urged voters to turn out in large numbers for the polls, stating that a strong participation would strengthen their position during the Special Intensive Revision process in Maharashtra.

Former AIMIM MP Imtiaz Jaleel issued a bold challenge to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who had claimed the party would be wiped out in the elections. Jaleel declared that if AIMIM failed to perform, he would shave his beard, but if the party succeeded, Shinde should be prepared to do the same, underscoring the confidence of AIMIM leaders in their electoral prospects in the region.

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