Hyderabad: Congress senior leader Mohammed Ali Shabbir on Sunday reiterated the party’s commitment to BC minority empowerment at a key organisational meeting in Armoor, Nizamabad district.
The meeting, part of the Telangana Congress’s Janahita Padayatra, was attended by AICC Telangana in-charge Meenakshi Natarajan, TPCC president Bomma Mahesh Kumar Goud, Minister D. Seethakka, and several MLAs. Shabbir told party workers that Congress’s return to power in Telangana was due to the decade-long struggle of grassroots activists. “You made this possible. Now it’s our duty to elevate you into leadership roles,” he said.
BC minority empowerment central to Congress agenda, says Shabbir Ali
He credited Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra with shaping public welfare policies by connecting directly with citizens. He said Telangana under Congress had set the benchmark for empowering backward classes.
Shabbir said the Janahita Padayatra aimed to raise awareness about government initiatives and identify local issues. He stressed that the 42% BC reservation bill, passed in the Telangana Assembly, must now be pushed through in Parliament. “From August 5, we’ll protest in Delhi until the Centre approves it,” he said.
Addressing minority concerns, he reminded attendees that it was the Congress that granted 4% reservation to minorities in Telangana. Despite repeated legal challenges, he said the quota was being protected in court. Citing the state’s caste census, he noted that minorities account for over 12% of the population, with 10.08% classified as backward—strengthening the case for reservation.
He accused the BJP-led Centre of trying to strip voting rights from the poor people and diverting national wealth to industrialists. He urged people to back Congress in its efforts to secure justice for BCs and minorities.
Among the leaders present were Zaheerabad MP Suresh Shetkar, MLAs Sudarshan Reddy, Bhoopathi Reddy, and Lakshmi Kantha Rao, State Cooperative Chairman Manala Mohan Reddy, MLC Balmuri Venkat, former MLC Jeevan Reddy, Minority Corporation Chairman Taher Bin Hamdan, and others.
