Hyderabad: Senior Congress leader Mohammed Ali Shabbir said on Sunday that the state government had delivered on its manifesto promise by allotting graveyard land to Muslims in Jubilee Hills. He called the step a matter of dignity and social justice.
He spoke at a press meet held in Rahmatnagar. The meeting was organised to announce the formal handover of one acre and five guntas of land near Masjid Ghairabad in Shaikpet. The land will serve residents of Rahmat Nagar, Erragadda, Borabanda, and nearby areas.
Ministers Ponnam Prabhakar and G Vivek Venkataswamy, along with TPCC Working President Md Azharuddin, Wakf Board Chairman Syed Azmatullah Hussaini, TMREIS President Faheem Qureshi, and other leaders also attended. Shabbir Ali said the site would soon have boundary walls, watchman quarters, and proper ghusl facilities. A local committee will manage the development.
“Graveyard land promise met with action, not delay”
Shabbir Ali said the Congress had promised the land and fulfilled it without delay. He added that another adjacent plot facing access issues would be cleared and handed over once legal problems were resolved.
He rejected opposition claims that the decision was selective. “Schemes like free bus travel, ration cards, or fine rice serve every community,” he said. He pointed out that ration cards were being issued after 13 years, and children born during that period were finally being included.
According to him, the government also approved 1,300 houses for poor Muslim families in Nizamabad Urban. The ₹5 lakh Indiramma housing subsidy, he said, was open to all eligible families regardless of religion. “Poverty doesn’t wear a religion. We are addressing need, not identity,” he added.
He highlighted that Congress had opened 65 new ITIs across Telangana. Many are equipped with modern training in fields like robotic welding, garment automation, and food processing. TCS and other companies, he noted, are already showing interest in recruiting from these institutes.
Later, Shabbir Ali joined Minister Adluri Laxman Kumar for the foundation laying of a TMREIS Girls Junior College in Erragadda. He said the earlier Congress government had introduced the 4% Muslim quota in 2004, which expanded access to higher education. As a result, 1,226 Muslim students, including 741 girls, secured MBBS seats in 2024–25.
He thanked CM Revanth Reddy and the Wakf Board for acting on a long-pending demand. “We didn’t just announce this graveyard land. We made it happen,” he said.
