Owaisi 'hate speech': BJP questions Andhra govt's inaction

Senior BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday sought an explanation from Andhra Pradesh government for not taking action against MIM legislator Akbaruddin Owaisi for his alleged provocative speeches against a particular community.

"I am shocked and surprised about the silence of the state chief minister, home minister and DGP when Owaisi allegedly has abused a community," Naidu told reporters in Hyderabad and demanded an explanation for it.

"He (Owaisi) wanted to create communal tension and get foothold among a particular section of people," Naidu alleged and sought to know why police of Nizamabad and Adilabad districts failed to take action.

Owaisi has challenged the rule of law by making provocative speeches, he said and expressed surprise that no leader of any political party condemned his "objectionable" speeches.

The party would take up the issue at national level if the state government failed to take immediate action, the BJP leader said.

Former Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya and state party unit president G Kishan Reddy were also present at the press conference.

A local court on Thursday directed police to investigate a complaint filed by a city-based businessman against Owaisi for allegedly making "hate speech" against a particular community.