Hyderabad: Though it may appear not to have any direct bearing on Hyderabad city, the ban on beef in Maharashtra and some other states has come as a handy tool for the MIM in its poll campaign in Muslim-dominated areas of the city.
MIM president Asaduddin Owaisi has been mentioning the beef ban during his campaign speeches while imitating Prime Minister Narendra Modi's style of addressing the public.
Whenever Mr Owaisi raises the issue, he begins with “mitro” (friends) in the PM’s style and goes on to say “mitro may work anywhere but not in Hyderabad, “bada” (Beef) alone will work in Hyderabad”.
He raised the beef ban while referring to modernisation of slaughterhouses in the city and also while citing his conversation with a dalit student of Hyderabad University during his visit to express solidarity with students protesting the suicide of Rohith Vemula.
“A student asked me why “Modi magic” didn’t work in Hyderabad in the general elections. He said “we can even celebrate beef festival here” and I replied we celebrate it every day in our city,” Mr Owaisi said.
Besides, he also takes pains to explain the financial impact of beef ban on families who depended on its sale in states where it has been banned.
During his campaigning, the MIM chief has been announcing that CCTV cameras will be installed in communally sensitive areas of South Zone and West Zone from his MPLADS to keep a vigil on troublemakers and financiers.
