Congress Plans Massive Outreach to Attract Minorities

• First meeting of the Telangana Congress Minorities Declaration Committee held at Gandhi Bhavan
• AICC Incharge Manikrao Thakre exhorts party cadre to connect with minorities
• Minorities Declaration will cover all needs and demands of minorities: Shabbir

Hyderabad, August 21: Congress party has decided to launch a massive outreach to connect with the minorities across Telangana State and get their support in the next Assembly elections.

The decision was taken in the first meeting of the ‘Minorities Declaration Committee’ held at Gandhi Bhavan on Monday. The Committee, chaired by TPCC PAC Convener & former minister Mohammed Ai Shabbir as its Chairman, was attended by AICC Incharge Manikrao Thakre, AICC Secretary Mansoor Ali Khan, and all committee members including TPCC Senior Vice-President Zafar Javeed, Working President Mohammed Azharuddin, Minorities Dept Chairman Shaik Abdullah Sohail, Azmathullah Hussaini, Obedullah Kothwal, Deepak John, Uzma Shakir, Prof M.D. Riyaz, Mohammed Faheem Qureshi, Khusro Pasha Biyabani, Ezekiel Birdudugadda, and Rashed Khan.

Briefing the media after the meeting, Shabbir Ali informed that the committee had a detailed discussion for nearly three hours on various issues about minorities. He said that the 4% Muslim reservation and other welfare schemes introduced by the previous Congress regime benefitted over 20 lakh poor Muslim families since 2005-06. However, he said that the welfare of minorities came to a halt after TRS came to power in 2014.

He accused Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao of completely neglecting the minorities’ welfare by depriving funds and manpower while finishing the representation of minorities from all government bodies as a part of a larger conspiracy. He pointed out there were six Muslim MLCs during the Congress regime. But under the KCR regime, their number got reduced to just one. Similarly, there is not a single Muslim among the 11 Vice-Chancellors and the community has no representation in the Telangana Public Service Commission (TSPSC).

Shabbir Ali said that the Minorities Declaration Committee would interact with the Muslim and Christian religious organizations, professionals, managements of minority institutions, civil society members, and all other stakeholders. He said the suggestions of all sections of the minority communities would be collected, polished, and compiled to prepare a draft declaration. He said important points from the declaration would be included in the party’s manifesto. He also informed that the groups and sub-groups would be constituted to meet various stakeholders and also meet minority community leaders in different districts. He said a dedicated email ID and WhatsApp number would be provided to facilitate the common people to give their suggestions on what should be included in the Minorities’ Declaration. He said a special desk would be set up at Gandhi Bhavan to receive representations from various groups and individuals in person.

The Congress leader said that the previous Congress regime empowered the minorities by implementing various schemes like Fee Reimbursement, Scholarships, etc., However, he said all the welfare schemes were dropped by KCR Govt and it created a false hype about minorities’ welfare. He said the budget allocated for the minorities’ welfare was never spent in full and many schemes meant for the economic and education empowerment of minorities were shelved.

Shabbir Ali said that the draft of the Minorities’ Declaration was likely to be ready by this month-end although no deadline has been set for the same. He said that the Declaration would be unveiled by top leaders from the AICC next month. (Hydnow)

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