Hyderabad, November 12: All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) MP Asaduddin Owaisi took a dig at Amit Shah by asking if the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president will change his surname as it is a Persian word. Asaduddin Owaisi made the remark on Sunday while addressing an election rally in poll-bound Telangana.

“Shah is a Persian word…will they change it or not… don’t know,” Owaisi said. Names of at least 25 cities across India have been changed since the BJP came to power at the Centre, apparently to erase Muslim identity. Allahabad and Faizabad in BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh are the latest additions to the growing list of places that have been renamed. Telangana Assembly Elections 2018: Asaduddin Owaisi Asks 'Will BJP Give Me a Cow?'

Taking a jibe at the BJP’s proposal in its election manifesto to distribute one lakh cows free of cost every year, Owaisi asked whether the party would give him a cow. “They have to give, and it is my responsibility. Indeed, I will respect it. But first, tell me, will you give me a cow or not?” the AIMIM lawmaker said. He said his enquiries showed that a cow ate 16 kg of fodder per day.

Owaisi reasoned that if one lakh cows were to be given, 16 lakh kg fodder would be required per day, and asked the gathering from where could this be arranged. “Now they will tell I gave an inflammatory speech. I am telling a fact. First of all, fodder is not available, and farmers are worried. But you (BJP) will not speak," he said. Telangana Assembly Elections 2018: BJP Manifesto Promises Free Distribution of One Lakh Cows Every Year.

We know what you want to do. You only want to spread hatred, and when the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) exposes it, they feel pain,” Owaisi alleged. On the BJP president’s call to create ‘MIM-mukt Hyderabad’, Owaisi said Shah should remember that “from Telangana, we will free BJP and also Congress”.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 12, 2018 07:48 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).