All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) on Wednesday celebrated 64th anniversary of its revival with party leader Akbaruddin Owaisi hoisting the party flag at Darussalam, the party headquarters here.

With party chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi busy in the campaigning for ongoing Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, his younger brother and party leader in the Telangana assembly did the honours in the presence of party legislators, leaders and workers.

Speaking on the occasion, Akbaruddin Owaisi recalled how his grandfather Maulvi Abdul Wahed Owaisi strove hard to protect the rights of Muslims and other minorities enshrined in the Indian Constitution by reviving the party on this day in 1958 with a new party constitution.

He said undeterred by the atmosphere of fear and misery among the Muslims in the aftermath of Police Action in 1948, he took up the onerous task of organising the community and gave it a new hope.

Akbaruddin Owaisi paid rich tributes to his grandfather and father and former MP Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi and said it was due to their hard work and sacrifices that AIMIM grew into a major political force today and is now expanding across the country.

The AIMIM legislator said without the sacrifices of Abdul Wahed Owaisi and Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi, AIMIM would not have built a chain of medical and educational institutions and would not have reached to this stage.

Dismissing the allegation of AIMIM’s critics that it is a communal party, he read out a resolution that was passed at the first public meeting of the party on March 2, 1958, which condemned communal politics and stressed on the need for Hindu-Muslim unity.

Claiming that the party strongly believes in the nation’s secular democracy, Akbaruddin Owaisi said it continued to protect and enhance its quality by effective representation from local to national level.

He made it clear that the assets built by the party over last six decades are owned by Muslims of Deccan and that Asaduddin Owaisi and other leaders are mere custodians of these assets.

Akbaruddin Owaisi listed out the achievements of the party during last six decades and also the help rendered by it to victims of riots and natural calamities in various parts of the country. He also mentioned the works undertaken by the party to help poor during Covid-19 pandemic.

He claimed that no other political party in the country can show even one per cent of the work undertaken by AIMIM in the areas of education and healthcare.

AIMIM was working to build leadership in other states of the country to raise the voice of the oppressed and try to solve the problems of poor and weaker sections of society.

Akbaruddin Owaisi slammed Narendra Modi government for failing to fulfill its promises of creating jobs and for delivering ‘acchey din’.

He voiced concern over the hatred being spread across the country in the name of ‘Hijab’. “Every Indian has right to wear what he or she likes. Similarly, Muslim women and girls have right to wear hijab,” he said.

Referring to recent attack on Asaduddin Owaisi in Uttar Pradesh, Akbaruddin Owaisi said the history of the party show that its leadership is not scared of such attempts.

Stating that Muslims are equal partners in the country, he said AIMIM was leading the democratic fight to ensure that Muslims get their due rights enshrined in the Constitution of India.

He slammed the so-called opposition parties which need votes of Muslims but are not willing to work for their upliftment.

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) on Wednesday lodged a complaint with Hyderabad police, seeking action against former chairman of Uttar Pradesh’s Shia Wakf Board Wasim Rizvi for blasphemy.

A delegation of AIMIM leaders led by party president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi met Hyderabad Police Commissioner Anjani Kumar and lodged a complaint against Rizvi.

The delegation brought to the police commissioner’s notice a book authored by Rizvi, in which he has vilified Prophet Mohammed.

Asaduddin Owaisi said the author used objectionable language against the Prophet, the religion of Islam and its followers.

“The contents of the book and the objectionable statements have been made with a view to outrage the religious sentiments of those who follow Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) and abide by Islamic tenets,” reads the representation submitted to the police commissioner.

The AIMIM alleged that Rizvi’s statements are also targeted at creating a feeling of enmity against Muslims of India which is likely to result in a threat to the breach of peace.

Owaisi demanded that Rizvi and his associates be booked under Sections of 153A, 153B, 295A, 504 and 505 (1) c of the Indian Penal Code.

Owaisi told reporters they also gave the commissioner excerpts of the book. He said the police commissioner assured the delegation that a criminal case will be booked.

The MP hoped Telangana government will not only book the case and arrest the accused. He also appealed to Muslims and other peace loving people of the country to file criminal cases against Rizvi.

He said the book was written to provoke Muslim to come out on streets. “This person has become a tool in the hands of the people who are inimical to the integrity and peace of this country and he is being used by anti-Islamic forces who do not believe in India’s pluralism and diversity,” he said.

The AIMIM delegation included party leader in Telangana Assembly Akbaruddin Owaisi, other MLAs and MLCs.

A man who was injured in the firing by a leader of Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) in Telangana’s Adilabad town on December 18, succumbed on Saturday, police said.

Syed Zameer, 52, a former councilor from Tatiguda in Adilabad, breathed his last at Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) in Hyderabad.

He along with his brother Syed Mannan and nephew Syed Mohtesin were injured when MIM Adilabad district president Mohammed Farooq Ahmed opened fire from his licensed revolver and also attacked them with a knife.

Zameer and Mohtesin had sustained bullet injuries while Mannan received stab wounds. As Zameer’s condition was critical, he was shifted to Hyderabad for treatment.

Mohammed Farooq, former deputy chairman of Adilabad municipality, attacked his rivals after a tussle between two groups playing cricket in Tatiguda area.

A video of the attack went viral over social media. Farooq was seen opening fire from his weapon while holding knife in another hand.

Police had arrested the accused and booked for attempt to murder. With Zameer’s death, he will be booked for murder. Police also recommended to the collector and district magistrate to cancel accused’s gun license.

Previous grudge seems to be the source of conflict between the two parties, police said The families of Farooq and Zameer are said political rivals.

Farooq’s wife is the councilor from Tatiguda. In the elections held last year she had defeated a woman relative of Zameer, who had contested on Congress party’s ticket.

Following the incident, MIM dissolved party’s Adilabad unit and announced that a new president will be announced