Yogi pledges to change Hyderabad's name; Owaisi says, generation will end but name won't change

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath were seen in a war of words after the latter pledged to change the name of Hyderabad to Bhagyanagar, if BJP wins the upcoming Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) civic body polls.

Hitting back at the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Owaisi said, 'The ones who want to change the name of the city, their entire generation will end but Hyderabad's name won't change.' 

Just three days to the GHMC elections, Yogi in a public meeting in Hyderabad on Saturday said, 'Only if Hyderabad becomes Bhagyanagar can the city be on the road to vikas.'

Addressing a rally in Hyderabad, Yogi Adityanath said, 'Some people were asking me if Hyderabad can be renamed as Bhagyanagar. I said  why not. I told them that we renamed Faizabad as Ayodhya and Allahabad as Prayagraj after BJP came into power in UP. Then why Hyderabad can't be renamed as Bhagyanagar?'

Yogi Adityanath is one of several star campaigners the BJP has deployed for campaigning in the run-up to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) civic body polls.

The UP CM went on to target the TRS and AIMIM parties, and alleged that they had a tacit alliance. 'The TRS, which is ruling the city like the Nizams, has given a free hand to the AIMIM. Together, they are looting the city's fortunes. The TRS government enabled the AIMIM to encroach the Musi river, and they in turn, made the city drown.

While addressing another rally, Asaduddin Owaisi replied, 'I tell you [voters], you have to answer those people who want to change the name of the city.'

The AIMIM chief then went on to take a veiled dig at Yogi Adityanath, saying, 'It doesn't look like Hyderabad municipal corporation polls but like we are electing a prime minister. It doesn't look like elections for Hyderabad, it'as if we're electing a prime minister in place of Narendra Modi. 

Asaduddin Owaisi also took a dig at PM Narendra Modi for his visit to the United States in October 2019 and said the prime minister had endorsed Donald Trump as the next president of the United States. Donald Trump lost to Democrat and now President-elect Joe Biden in the US Presidential elections.