Hyderabad: Senior Congress leader and government advisor Mohammed Ali Shabbir attacked former Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao, accusing him of hiding failures in the Kaleshwaram project. Speaking to reporters at Gandhi Bhavan after a Prajavani public outreach session, he said KCR rushed to court even before the Justice P.C. Ghose Commission report reached the Assembly for debate.
Shabbir Ali on Kaleshwaram irregularities
“Justice Ghose investigated the project for 15 months, questioned politicians, engineers, bureaucrats and central agencies, and concluded that several violations occurred,” Shabbir Ali said. He noted that the project had no Cabinet approval, no Central Water Commission clearance and no permission from the National Dam Safety Authority. “KCR ran the project with his own ‘Farmaan,’ wasting ₹1.10 lakh crore of public money. Even in the Nizam era, such mismanagement never happened,” he alleged.
He said the findings would be tabled in the Assembly soon. “Once debated, KCR must face the consequences. The Congress Government will not spare anyone responsible,” he declared.
Congress push for caste census and quotas
Moving to social justice, Shabbir said Telangana became the first state in a century to conduct a caste census, showing BCs form 46.25% of the population. “This was Rahul Gandhi’s idea, and CM Revanth Reddy implemented it with courage. Now other states want to follow Telangana,” he said.
He recalled that the state passed a law to raise BC quota to 42%, but the Centre blocked it over Muslim inclusion. On the 4% Muslim quota, he clarified: “This is not a religious quota but based on occupational and social backwardness. Even before Independence, Muslims had reservations in education and jobs.” He reminded that Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy introduced it in 2004, benefiting lakhs of poor families.
Defence of Muslim reservation
Citing the caste census, he said 10.08% of Muslims fall under BCs. He referenced committees from the Hunter Commission in the 1880s to the Mandal Commission in the 1990s that recognised Muslim groups as backward. He added that Muslim communities are included in OBC lists across most states and the Centre. “If BJP has the courage, let them first remove Muslim quotas in Gujarat or other BJP-ruled states. Why only target Telangana?” he asked.
Support for SC categorisation, Vice President pick
On SC categorisation, Shabbir said Congress finally delivered justice to the Madiga community after six decades of demand. He noted that Telangana was the first to implement categorisation after the Supreme Court’s 2024 ruling, dividing the SC quota into three groups. “This was possible only because of Rahul Gandhi’s vision of social justice,” he said.
He also endorsed CM Revanth Reddy’s call to back Justice Sudarshan Reddy for Vice President. He said the former Supreme Court judge had upheld minority reservations and lived with integrity. “The BJP spoke of consensus but named its candidate first. The INDIA bloc then responded with Sudarshan Reddy, a true son of this soil,” he said.
Criticism of BJP and outreach on housing
Shabbir accused the Centre of using new laws to jail opposition leaders. He reviewed the Indiramma Housing Scheme, saying houses would be given in two phases first to those with land, then to landless families.
Earlier, during the Prajavani session, he heard public complaints and in some cases phoned officials directly. “The Congress restored grievance redressal after December 2023. Under BRS, people had no forum. Now their voices are being heard,” he said.
