BRS leader Shaik Abdullah Sohail accused the Congress government in Telangana of neglecting minority welfare in the 2025-26 budget. He criticized the unspent funds from previous allocations and the failure to implement promised schemes.
HYDERABAD: BRS senior leader Shaik Abdullah Sohail strongly criticised the Congress government in Telangana for allegedly ignoring the welfare of minorities while preparing the State’s annual budget for 2025-26.
In a media statement on Friday, Abdullah Sohail accused Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, who also handles the Minorities’ Welfare portfolio, and Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka, the Finance Minister, of not conducting a single review meeting with officials or Muslim leaders from their own party to discuss budgetary provisions for minorities. He pointed out that while similar meetings were held for other communities, minorities were completely neglected.
Unspent Minority Welfare Funds
Sohail criticised the Congress Government for failing to release the allocated funds for minority welfare in the previous budget. He revealed that out of the Rs2,997 crore allocated for 2024-25, only Rs1,099 crore had been spent by January 2025. Several crucial welfare schemes were affected:
- The Telangana Minorities Residential Educational Institutions Society (TMREIS) spent only Rs560 crore out of its Rs1,000 crore allocation.
- The Bank Linked Subsidy scheme saw negligible spending, with just Rs0.008 crore spent from Rs300 crore.
- Training and employment programs received only Rs1 crore out of the allotted Rs30 crore.
- The Shaadi Mubarak scheme, meant to provide financial assistance for Muslim marriages, utilized only Rs282 crore out of Rs650 crore.
- The Wakf Board received just Rs67 crore from its Rs120 crore allocation.
- Several other schemes, including pre-matric scholarships, MSDP State Matching Grant, Urdu Academy, and the Wakf Commissioner’s Survey, were almost completely ignored.
Congress failing to deliver on promises
Abdullah Sohail reminded that the Congress had made 12 major promises to Muslims through a separate Minorities Declaration and had also given 420 assurances to various communities before the elections. However, despite being in power for over 15 months, the government had failed to indicate when these promises would be fulfilled. He pointed out that Congress initially pledged Rs4,000 crore for minority welfare but reduced it to Rs3,003 crore in the 2024-25 budget. Despite this reduction, less than 25% of the allocated amount was utilized. Moreover, an RTI response dated February 5 revealed that no new schemes had been announced or implemented for minorities since 2024.
Criticism of token measures
Sohail ridiculed the Congress government’s attempt to mislead the minority community by announcing a Rs25 crore expenditure while failing to release Rs3,000 crore of the allocated budget. He specifically criticized Telangana State Minorities Finance Corporation (TSMFC) Chairman Obedullah Kothwal’s announcement of Rs50,000 financial grants for 5,000 women, which amounted to just Rs25 crore.
Instead of urging Chief Minister Revanth Reddy to release the remaining budget, Congress leaders were allegedly misleading the community with minor relief measures. Sohail also criticized the Congress model of employment generation, highlighting that instead of distributing Rs1,000 crore in subsidized loans as promised, the government was handing out sewing machines worth Rs5,000 to 11,000 women and promoting it as a major employment initiative.
Key Schemes yet to be implemented
Sohail further condemned the Congress government for failing to implement key promises, including:
- The Abdul Kalam Taufa-e-Taleem scheme
- Special DSC recruitment for Urdu-medium teachers
- Monthly honorarium of Rs10,000 – Rs12,000 for religious leaders such as Imams, Muezzins, Khadims, Pastors, and Granthis
He also warned that the flawed caste survey had misclassified minorities and linking Backward Classes (BCs) with minorities could be dangerous, potentially leading to the loss of constitutional rights and privileges granted to religious minorities.
Demands for the upcoming budget
Shaik Abdullah Sohail demanded that the Congress government allocate Rs4,000 crore for minority welfare in the upcoming budget, as promised. He also urged the government to introduce a Minorities Sub-Plan Bill in the forthcoming budget session and amend The Telangana State Minorities Commission Act, 1998 to make it a permanent body.
The BRS leader warned that the Congress government must fulfill its election commitments or face political consequences in the upcoming elections.
