AIMIM legislature party leader and MLA from Chandrayangutta in Hyderabad Akbaruddin Owaisi has requested Chief Minister Chandrashekhar Rao to develop the famed Simhavauhini Mahankali Temple at Lal Darwaja in the old city.

The younger brother of AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi is known for his communally volatile speeches and was arrested in 2013 for one at Nirmal.

The Mahankali temple is very popular for a Telangana festival – Bonalu, when lakhs of devotees especially women throng the narrow Laldarwaza lanes with offerings of rice cooked with milk, jaggery in earthen/brass pots - to the goddess. Though the festival is feistily conducted at several other temples of the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad, the Laldarwaza temple has a strong Bonalu connect, held in/around July every year.

“Lal Darwaja Mahankali temple has more than a hundred years of history. During Bonalu, lakhs of people offer prayers and Bonalu here. But the temple complex is in a 100 square yards area and this narrow space is causing immense problems to lakhs of devotees. There is a need to develop the temple,” said Owaisi who met Rao at Pragati Bhavan on Sunday and submitted a memorandum in this regard.

Akbaruddin is one of the seven MLAs AIMIM has in the Telangana assembly - all elected from the old quarters of Hyderabad. BJP leaders like present union junior home minister Kishan Reddy had accused him of “unabashed incitement of religious sentiments, and contemptuous insinuation against Hindu gods and goddesses …”

While asking for the expansion and development of the temple at a cost of Rs 10 Crore, the MLA pointed to the locals who may lose properties with such extension.

“Compensate them by providing 800 square yards of land at Fareed Market, which is under the GHMC (Hyderabad’s civic body). Consider widening and development of the temple as a top priority work. This will be useful to the devotees,” Akbaruddin requested the CM.

The CM, known for his religious streak, was reminded by Akbaruddin that Rao had offered a golden Bonam at the Mahankali Temple wishing for a Golden Telangana state.

Akbaruddin also requested the CM to sanction Rs three crore for repairs, renovation of the Afzalgunj Masjid. Muslims offering prayers there are facing inconvenience, he said.

According to the CMO officials, Rao responded positively to Akbaruddin’s requests. “The CM assured that funds for the Mahankali Temple and Afzalgunj Masjid would be released. He instructed Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar to take necessary measures for the development of these two places of worship.”

In last month’s civic polls, AIMIM – which has friendly relations with ruling TRS – won two municipalities including Bhainsa, in Nirmal district, which saw communal clashes days before the election.