People now know who is behaving like Nizam: AIMIM MP Jaleel hits back at Amit Shah

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After Union minister Amit Shah targeted the AIMIM, describing it as "new Nizams", the Hyderabad-headquartered party's Lok Sabha member Imtiaz Jaleel hit back saying people now know who behaves like Nizams.

Talking to reporters here, Jaleel also targeted the BJP-led central government, saying that although several years have passed since the abrogation of Article 370, assembly elections have not been held in Jammu and Kashmir so far.

Shah on Tuesday addressed a rally here, in which apparently took a swipe at the All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), saying, "The entire Marathwada region was under the Nizam rule. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel liberated Marathwada from Nizam, and now it is time to liberate Sambhajinagar from the new Nizams."

Talking to reporters soon after Shah's remarks, Jaleel said, "People know who is behaving like Nizam now. Razakars tried to weaken and break the country in their times. Now, people know very well who is doing this."

"Nizams are now gone...I belong to this soil," he added.

The Razakars were an armed militia of the Nizam of Hyderabad. They tried to brutally put down a revolt by peasants opposed to the Nizam's decision to not merge with India following Independence.

The Hyderabad state included parts of the present-day Telangana, Karnataka and Maharashtra.

Jaleel also criticized Shah for talking about abrogation of Article 370.

"People here have nothing to do with Article 370...At the time of abrogation, it was said that elections will be held in Kashmir. But three years have passed now...," he said.

Jaleel had defeated undivided Shiv Sena's Chandrakant Khaire, who was supported by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Aurangabad, now known as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.

Earlier, in an apparent reference to the All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said it was time to "liberate" Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar from "new Nizams".

Speaking at a rally in the central Maharashtra city, he also targeted opposition parties for promoting dynasties, and claimed that Congress leader Sonia Gandhi wanted to make her son Rahul Gandhi prime minister.

"The entire Marathwada region was under the Nizam rule. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel liberated Marathwada from Nizam, and now it is time to liberate Sambhajinagar from new Nizams," Shah said.

In the 2019 general elections, AIMIM's Imtiyaz Jaleel defeated undivided Shiv Sena's Chandrakant Khaire, supported by the BJP.

"Sonia Gandhi wants to make her son Rahul prime minister of the country. Sharad Pawar wants to make his daughter chief minister of Maharashtra. How can the heads of political parties who are helping only their family members ever do anything to benefit their country or make Bharat safe?" the BJP leader further said.