Hyderabad, January 11: Congress leader and Telangana government advisor for SC, ST, OBC, and Minorities, Mohammed Ali Shabbir, reaffirmed the government’s dedication to improving the lives of minorities and other marginalised groups.
Speaking at two events on Saturday, Shabbir Ali launched the All Minority Employees Welfare Association’s (MEWA) New Year calendar at his residence in Jubilee Hills and later attended a programme organised by the Telangana State Minority Employees Service Society (TS-MESA) at the Potti Sriramulu Telugu University Auditorium in Nampally.
He highlighted that the Congress government, led by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, prioritises employee welfare. Recently, the government approved a 20% Interim Relief (IR) for government employees, pensioners, and staff of local bodies and institutions following the 2020 revised pay scales. This benefit also extends to public sector employees, cooperative societies, and non-teaching university staff, provided their organizations adopted the 2020 pay scales.
Shabbir Ali emphasised the Congress government’s commitment to the welfare of minorities, stating that inclusive growth is at the heart of its policies. He criticised the previous BRS regime for making empty promises while failing to deliver on minority welfare. In contrast, he said, the Congress government has streamlined schemes and addressed loopholes to ensure minorities receive their rightful share of benefits.
He noted that schemes like Indiramma Indlu and Mahalakshmi are being implemented fairly, ensuring that Muslim groups under the BC-E category receive promised housing. He said lakhs of poor minority families would get the new ration cards. He also spoke about the 4% BC-E reservation for socially and economically backward Muslims and announced that the state’s caste survey has been completed. The survey results, expected soon, will guide the government in creating better policies to reach deserving beneficiaries.
During his speech, Shabbir Ali pointed out significant improvements in education for minorities. He said that while over 80% of minority engineering and professional colleges shut down under the BRS regime, the Congress government has added 2,200 engineering seats in minority colleges and established a minority law college and two pharmacy colleges. In the recent DSC recruitment, 720 out of 10,006 selected candidates belonged to minority communities. He assured that Muslims would benefit from the upcoming Group-1, Group-2, and Group-3 recruitments.
Shabbir Ali reiterated that the Congress government is truly secular and committed to justice for all communities. He assured that the efforts of the past year are just the beginning of its mission to uplift minorities and address the injustices faced during the ten-year BRS rule. (eom)
