Reacting for the first time, the Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) president and MP, Mr Asaduddin Owaisi, said the murderous attack on his brother and MIM floor leader, the Chandrayangutta MLA, Mr Akbaruddin Owaisi, was a bigger "conspiracy" to eliminate the leader and cut a swathe through the party that has become popular in old city. Mr Owaisi accused two Urdu dailies of being the "main conspirators" in the attack.

The MIM chief said the brutal attempt on Mr Akbar's life was a most difficult phase in his life till date after the death of their father and MIM patriarch, Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi. "Can you believe he (Akbar) took 29 stab wounds on his left hand, bullet wounds and survived? The blood chilling video of the attack has left people shocked," he said. According to him, Mr Akbar is still weak and needs a couple of days more before he can be discharged from the hospital. Thanking Allah for saving Mr Akbar's life, he said the attackers who are kin of the Pahelwans were mere pawns in the whole affair and the bigger conspirators were the two newspapers. "The socalled land dispute is sheer bakwas (nonsense). It is a government land and Akbar only tried to protect it from land grabbers so that poor can get a house," he said.

According to Mr Owaisi, the two Urdu dailies were running a defamation campaign against the Owaisi brothers and the MIM for five years. He also said that about 70 acres of government land in Bandlaguda had been illegally occupied, which otherwise could be used as a housing colony for the poor. When asked to name the two dailies, he quipped, "I don't want to name the newspapers. Everyone, who reads Urdu newspapers knows it. It's not newspaper rivalry (Mr Asaduddin owns a Urdu daily Ittehmad), but a deliberate campaign to finish us." Mr Owaisi said his party never indulged in murder politics and the mass support was testimony to this. "Even assuming it's a land dispute, should a person be killed? It's atrocious and senseless. We might be accused of playing communal politics, which is again debatable, but we never indulged in politics of murder. We took on 'Tiger' Narendra, Amanullah Khan politically, but never targeted them physically," added Mr Owaisi.