New Delhi: Asaduddin Owaisi of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has said the country should adopt the “Telangana model”, which he described as a model for peace, progress, and communal amity, according to The Hindu.The AIMIM, which is extending its support to the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) in Telangana, will contest nine seats, as against eight seats it had contested in the 2018 assembly elections. The party will also contest from the Jubilee Hills constituency in Hyderabad this time around, where former cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin is Congress’s candidate. The party has so far declared six candidates. In the outgoing Telangana assembly, it has seven MLAs.Owaisi is of the view that the perception of Congress’s stock increasing in Telangana will not have an impact on the state’s Muslim community. He says the minority community will rally behind the BRS and there is no question of votes getting divided.“As far as Muslims are concerned, I don’t think that will be the scenario. People who create this argument cite Karnataka, which is different from Telangana. Unlike Karnataka, there have been no mob lynchings, beef bans, or communal riots here [in Telangana], and women have not been stopped from wearing hijab,” he told The Hindu in an interview.Also read: BRS or Congress: The Dilemma Facing Telangana’s Muslim VotersThe AIMIM chief goes on to say that the nearly ten-year tenure of K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) has been that of communal amity, and therefore, the Telangana model of governance should be promoted. “Telangana model which is of peace, progress, prosperity, Muslim upliftment and communal amity, should be adopted by everyone. In the last nine years, we had curfew only in Bhainsa, but overall it has been very peaceful. You have a Hindu chief minister whose practicing of faith is not a threat to anyone. This government has spent about Rs 2,500 crore for the upkeep of temples. At the same time, some 17,000 imams and muezzins are paid Rs 5,000 per month.”Owaisi dismissed the allegation that both BRS and AIMIM are in an understanding with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The Congress in Telangana has been alleging that the three parties are in cahoots, and pointing out that the BJP-led Union government has been “lenient” towards the BRS’s government despite corruption allegations. As for the AIMIM, the Congress has been accusing it of helping the BJP indirectly by fielding candidates across Muslim-dominated constituencies in the country to split the anti-BJP vote. It was accused of being a “voter-cutter” in the aftermath of assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, and Gujarat. The party has now decided to field candidates in Rajasthan as well.“Had the BJP’s pressure been here [in Telangana], there would have been communal riots. How is it that Rs 12,000 crore has been spent on minorities in nine years? The Muslim representation in Shaadi Mubarak and Kalyana Lakshmi schemes is 21.23%. In SC, ST, BC, and Minorities overseas scholarship, the minority share is 47.26%. The total budget for Kalyana Lakshmi, Shaadi Mubarak, ST, SC, BC, Minorities overseas scholarship, residential schools, etc., is Rs 91,000 crore, and the share of minorities 13.18%,” said Owaisi in a bid to counter Congress’s allegations.Rahul Gandhi alleged that AIMIM fields candidates by “taking money” from the BJP wherever there is a contest between Congress and the BJP. Gandhi’s statement came after AIMIM announced that it would field candidates from Rajasthan, mostly in Muslim-majority seats. The Hyderabad-based party has so far announced candidates for the Hawa Mahal seat in Jaipur, Fatehpur in Sikar, and Kaman in Bharatpur – all currently held by the Congress. The party is expected to announce candidates for more seats.Owaisi flatly refuted the allegations levelled by Gandhi, pointing out that his party had supported the nuclear deal of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government, backed Congress candidates for president, and threw its weight behind Congress chief minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy in the united Andhra Pradesh when he faced a no-confidence motion.“Was money given to me then? If everything is about money for Rahul Gandhi, then I can also ask if Modi gave him money so that Congress is reduced to 40- or 50-odd seats in the 2014 and 2019 elections,” Owaisi hit back.He further said, “Rahul Gandhi, you make these accusations because my name is Asaduddin. Because I have a beard on my face and wear [a] skull cap, that’s why you make allegations of taking money against me….” He told a public rally in Hyderabad, “It is your hatred against this name and you have hatred against those donning beard and skull cap. That’s why you make the allegations.”He ruled out a fractured mandate in Telangana, and said that the BJP’s “intentions” of a possible coalition government in the state would not come true. “I don’t think that there will be a fractured mandate. BRS will get a majority on its own. A coalition government is the intention of the BJP. B.L. Santhosh, who came from the RSS, said that no party would get a majority. This shows the BJP’s intentions.”Telangana will go to the polls on November 30, and the votes will be counted on December 3. The BRS is facing an ascendant Congress, which has emerged as the principal contender, pushing the BJP behind. The BJP’s stock has been on the decline for the last few months after it enjoyed a phase where it challenged the BRS government.