Shots were fired at the vehicle of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday, February 3. Speaking to news agency ANI, the Hyderabad Member of Parliament (MP) said, "I was leaving for Delhi after a poll event in Kithaur, Meerut, in Uttar Pradesh. Three to four rounds of bullets were fired upon my vehicle by two people near Chhajarsi toll plaza. They were a total of 3-4 people. Tyres of my vehicle were punctured. I left in another vehicle.”
The incident is said to have taken place around 5.30 pm as his vehicle slowed down near the toll plaza. Taking to Twitter, he later said, “There were 3-4 people, but all of them ran away and left the weapons there…We are all safe.”
कुछ देर पहले छिजारसी टोल गेट पर मेरी गाड़ी पर गोलियाँ चलाई गयी। 4 राउंड फ़ायर हुए। 3-4 लोग थे, सब के सब भाग गए और हथियार वहीं छोड़ गए। मेरी गाड़ी पंक्चर हो गयी, लेकिन मैं दूसरी गाड़ी में बैठ कर वहाँ से निकल गया। हम सब महफ़ूज़ हैं। अलहमदु’लिलाह। pic.twitter.com/Q55qJbYRih
— Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) February 3, 2022
Owaisi is presently busy campaigning for the AIMIM in Uttar Pradesh, ahead of the Assembly polls scheduled in the state. Last month, Owaisi had announced the launch of a new front, Bhagidari Parivartan Morcha, comprising parties with a support base among Muslims, other backward classes (OBCs) and Dalits for the 2022 UP Assembly elections. The front includes the Jan Adhikari Party led by Babu Singh Kushwaha, the Bharat Mukti Morcha led by Vaman Meshram, Janata Kranti Party led by Anil Singh Chauhan and Bharatiya Vanchit Samaj Party led by Ram Prasad Kashyap.
In September this year, the MP's official residence at Ashoka Road in New Delhi was vandalised. While the MP was in Uttar Pradesh during the incident, he said that the caretaker of the house, Raju, was assaulted after which he filed a complaint. Five members of the Hindu Sena were later arrested by the Delhi Police for their alleged involvement in the vandalism. The accused were armed with axes and also pelted stones at the residence, the complaint said.
Speaking to The News Minute at the time, Owaisi had said, “The whole political ecosystem which is full of bigotry and hatred and these people get emboldened and do these things. The issue is that if an MP's house can be targeted and vandalised, today it is the vandalising of the name plate and throwing stones inside, tomorrow, they can go one step further. These are not fringe elements, they are the main elements of the Hindutva brigade.”