BJP leader Navneet Rana responded to a controversial statement made by AIMIM leader Akbaruddin Owaisi in 2013, issuing a veiled warning to the Owaisi brothers in their stronghold Hyderabad on Wednesday.

Referring to Akbaruddin Owaisi’s statement that it would take them ’15 minutes’ to balance out the “Hindu-Muslim ratio” in the country, Navneet Rana, who is seeking a fresh term in the Lok Sabha from Amravati on a BJP ticket, hit back at the Owaisi brothers, suggesting that it would take the BJP just “15 seconds” if the police were removed or made to stand down.

“The younger brother says ‘remove the police for 15 minutes so that we can show them what we can do’. I want to tell the younger brother (Akbaruddin) that it might take you 15 minutes, but it will only take us 15 seconds if we come to the forefront,” Rana said in a video clip posted on her X handle, tagging the Owaisi brothers.

In a meeting in 2013, Akbaruddin Owaisi allegedly warned “100 crore Hindus” that his community would demonstrate their power if the police were withdrawn for ’15 minutes’.

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Navneet made the remark while campaigning for Madhavi Latha, the BJP’s candidate for the Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituency. Latha is up against AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, who has held the seat since 2004.

This marks the first time that the BJP has fielded a female candidate from the Hyderabad constituency.

Before Asaduddin Owaisi, the seat was held by his father, Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi, since 1984. The Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituency comprises seven assembly segments, with all but one currently held by the AIMIM.

Reacting to her remarks, AIMIM leader Waris Pathan questioned why the police has not taken any action against her.

“What is the Election Commission doing? Are such statements allowed in elections? We would like the Election Commissioner to take cognisance of this statement and take strict action…BJP has come to realise that this time it is difficult for them to cross 200-250 seats…,” Pathan said, as quoted by ANI.

Voting for all 17 seats in Telangana will take place on May 13 in the fourth phase of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

In the 2019 polls, the TRS won nine seats, while the BJP secured four. The Congress and the AIMIM won three and one seat respectively.