Monday, May 20

Why #ArrestNavneetRana Is Trending

Edited by Aishwarya Krishnan
Why #ArrestNavneetRana Is Trending (image-X/navneetravirana)

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Navneet Rana has stirred controversy by issuing an open threat to the Owaisi brothers, Asaduddin Owaisi and Akbaruddin Owaisi, during her campaigning in their stronghold Hyderabad, saying that if the police were removed for 15 seconds, the Owaisi brothers “kahan se aaye aur kahan ko gaya (would not know from where they came and where they went).” Rana’s remarks come in response to a provocative statement made by AIMIM leader Akbaruddin Owaisi back in 2013.

On Tuesday, Ms Rana, who is seeking re-election in the Lok Sabha from Amravati on a BJP ticket, made a direct reference to Akbaruddin Owaisi’s statement from 2013, where he mentioned taking ’15 minutes’ to balance the “Hindu-Muslim ratio” in India if the police were withdrawn for that duration. In her retort, Rana warned that it would only take “15 seconds” for them to act if the police were removed or made to stand down.

“The younger brother (Akbaruddin) says, ‘remove the police for 15 minutes so that we can show them what we can do’. I want to tell the younger brother that it might take you 15 minutes, but it will only take us 15 seconds….it will take us all of 15 seconds if we come to the forefront,” the BJP candidate said as other party members cheered and clapped.

The video clip of Rana’s statement was shared on her social media handle captioned, “15 second lagega (it will take 15 seconds)”, tagging the Owaisi brothers, and soon after, #ArrestNavneetRana started trending on X (formerly known as Twitter).

Meanwhile, Rana also stated that every vote for AIMIM and Congress will go directly to Pakistan. Rana, campaigning for Madhavi Latha, the BJP’s candidate for the Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituency, said that voting for Latha will stop Hyderabad from becoming Pakistan.

Rana’s comments have not gone unnoticed, with Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan criticizing her remarks. Condemning both Akbaruddin Owaisi and Rana for their statements, Chavan urged the Election Commission to probe the matter and take action against them. Meanwhile, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi responded, challenging the BJP to carry out their threats. “What will she do? Give her the 15 seconds… give her an hour even. We too want to see what they will do. Is there any humanity left in them?” Owaisi responded.

The election fever is at its peak in Hyderabad, with voting scheduled for May 13 in the fourth phase of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.