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New Delhi:

Asaduddin Owaisi, the chief of AIMIM (All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen), today mocked Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s remarks targetting his party using the word “Razakar”. Mr Shah, he said, will get his answer from the people of Hyderabad, who are being portrayed in such a derogatory manner.

“Amit Shah holds an intellectual property right on that word. I think no one should use it apart from Amit Shah,” Mr Owaisi told NDTV in an exclusive interview. “He has been using these words for the last five years…. People will give a reply because (he is) calling people in such a derogatory way… we have worked irrespective of caste creed religion,” he added.

Hyderabad has been the bastion of Mr Owaisi’s AIMIM for over 40 years. The BJP is now trying to make inroads into the constituency, with a high-powered campaign for its candidate, Madhavi Latha.

“For 40 years, the representatives of Razakars have been ruling Hyderabad. This time, we are fighting to rid the city of them. Everyone should vote and try to bring the city into the mainstream,” Mr Shah said.

Razakars were paramilitary volunteers who tried to help the Nizam government in keeping Hyderabad State independent after India gained Independence in 1947. The princely state merged with India on September 17, 1948.

Mr Shah’s comments had provoked many, including Congress candidate Mohammed Walliullah Sameer, who questioned why the minister was using words that has no relevance with the events of the day. “Why is this divisive narrative being promoted by the Union Home Minister,” he asked at a press conference.