Hyderabad New Mayor on Image Makeover Spree

The newly elected Mayor Mohammed Majid Hussain of MIM took charge as Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) mayor on Thursday. Soon after he was declared elected on Tuesday, Majid Hussain had vowed to take up an image makeover of Greater Hyderabad.

As one walks into the chambers of the newly-elected Mayor, Mohammed Majid Hussain, one cannot but take note of the image makeover he has taken up. As a first step, he got the three framed photographs - that of President Pratibha Patil, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy - replaced with former MIM president the late Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi and his sons, MP Asaduddin Owaisi and MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi.

The replacement of the portraits raised several eyebrows. However, the mayor seemed visibly happy. He arrived at his office in a huge procession from the MIM headquarters in Darussalam. He also took the opportunity to set the record straight by making his self-image makeover too. Earlier it was reported in a section of the media that he faces at least seven criminal cases, including that of intimidation and attempt to murder.

Making light of the reports in media, Majid Hussain said "I have been framed. The cases against me were booked when I went to support locals who were facing some problems," he told. He further said the cases were foisted against him only after he became a corporator. "Prior to that, there were no such cases against me. As a public representative, I have to support the public when they are in problems and protect them. I cannot shy away from my responsibilities and will continue to do so whenever local people require my help," he asserted.

Besides clarifying, the new mayor also unveiled some of his plans for the city. "I will make Greater Hyderabad look altogether different. But I cannot make any commitment right now," he said.

Modi Is Not Our PM: Owaisi

MIM is a recognized state political party based in the Indian state of Telangana, with its head office in the old city of Hyderabad, which has its roots in the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen founded in 1927. Unlike most of the regional and national level parties, MIM party leaders ‘fight’ only for the well-being of Muslims, whereas no other party has such communal feelings. In their each and every speech, MIM leaders speak only about Muslims. If these leaders are here to fight for Muslims, then why there are no development works are happening in old city area for decades. Akbaruddin Owaisi faced criticism for making hate remarks on Narendra Modi and Hindus. Recently, his elder brother Asaduddin Owaisi made some notorious annotations. In a one-on-one debate between BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra and Asaduddin Owaisi on the topic of demonetization in a popular Hindi channel, the former left no stone unturned in exposing the latter’s communal designs. Owaisi claimed how most of the Muslim community still remains unbanked and that demonetization has caused severe inconvenience to Muslims. He even went on to say that ATM’s in Muslim-dominated areas weren’t fed enough money. He indirectly alleged that the Modi government hadn’t done anything for Muslims. Even after being pressurized Owaisi didn’t call Narendra Modi as his Prime Minister. He went on said, “Your Prime Minister…” On the other hand, Sambit spoke wisely and called Owaisi a leader of small stature because he talked only of Muslims. He said that no area was Muslim or Hindu and that all areas belonged to India. Owaisi was constantly quoting an RBI report, to which Sambit challenged him to show where the RBI had used the word ‘Muslim’. Sambit even said that if a Muslim leader speaks of Muslims it’s not an issue, but the moment a VHP leader speaks of Hindus people go crazy accusing them of imposing the Hindutva ideology. The most amazing of his counters was to Owaisi’s claims of Muslims not having been brought into the banking system. Sambit said that when banks or ATMs are to be opened in Muslim areas leaders like Owaisi shout that banking is un-Islamic and that Muslims should refrain from it! This video of debate between Sambit Patra and Asaduddin Owaisi is going viral in social media.