Hyderabad, January 11: Senior BRS leader Shaik Abdullah Sohail strongly condemned the Congress government in Telangana for neglecting the welfare of minorities and failing to deliver on the promises made in its Minorities Declaration. He criticised the Congress for not only underperforming on its budget commitments but also for abandoning critical assurances like introducing a Minorities Sub-Plan and increasing budget allocations.
“Despite coming to power on the promise of increasing the minorities’ welfare budget to Rs 4,000 crore, the Congress government allocated only Rs 3,003 crore for 2024-25 and has spent less than Rs 750 crore so far. This is the lowest expenditure since the formation of Telangana. The Congress government has betrayed the trust of the minorities with their empty promises,” said Shaik Abdullah Sohail.
The BRS leader pointed out that the Congress’ Minorities Declaration remains unfulfilled even after 10 months in power. Key promises such as conducting a caste census for fair reservations, allocating Rs 1,000 crore annually for subsidised loans to minority youth, introducing the Abdul Kalam Taufa-e-Taleem scheme for higher education, and protecting land for Muslim and Christian graveyards have all been ignored. The Minorities Sub-Plan, a major promise to ensure dedicated funding, has seen no progress.
Shaik Abdullah Sohail contrasted this with the BRS government’s achievements, highlighting a 113% increase in the minority welfare budget from Rs 1,030 crore in 2014-15 to Rs 2,200 crore in 2023-24. “Under BRS rule, Rs 2,258 crore was spent on the Shaadi Mubarak scheme, benefiting over 2,68,000 Muslim girls. The then Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao invested Rs 700 crore in minority education – the highest by any state in India – and established 205 Minority Residential Schools benefiting nearly 1,00,000 students,” he added.
“So far, only 24% of the Rs 3,003 crore allocated for 2024-25 has been spent. The Shaadi Mubarak scheme received just Rs 215 crore out of the Rs 650 crore allocation, while the Telangana Wakf Board utilised only Rs 51.56 crore from its Rs 120 crore budget. Other welfare schemes, such as bank-linked subsidies and training programs, are practically non-functional,” he stated.
He also criticised the Congress government’s controversial ‘Indiramma Mahila Shakti’ scheme to distribute sewing machines to minority women. “The scheme, while appearing beneficial, burdens applicants with unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles and additional expenses of up to Rs 1,000 for documentation. Making poor women spend nearly 15% of the machine’s cost is illogical and unfair,” he remarked.
Abdullah Sohail called out Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, who holds the portfolio of Minority Welfare, for failing to prioritise the department and fulfill election promises. “The Congress must be reminded that minorities voted for them with the hope of change, but their performance has been nothing short of disappointing,” he said.
He urged the Congress government to immediately fulfill its promises, including the implementation of the Minorities Sub-Plan, increasing welfare spending, and providing interest-free loans to jobless youth. (Ends)
