Deputy CLP leader in Telangana Legislative Council Mohammed Ali Shabbir has accused the TRS Government of completely ignoring the welfare of minorities in the State.
In a pressnote here on Saturday, Shabbir Ali alleged that Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao did not evince interest in fulfilling the promises he made during the electioneering. Even after completion of more than 125 days in power, the government did not take a single major decision with regard to the welfare of minorities. It confined itself to mere promises and assurances while giving no indications of fulfilling them.
Alleging KCR was making tall promises and doing a little, the Congress leader said as against his claim of providing financial assistance of Rs 51,000 to each of 40,000 poor Muslim girls at the time of their marriage under “Shaadi Mubarak” scheme, the State Government has released only Rs 21.71 lakh which is sufficient only for 40 marriages. He also accused the KCR government of adding too many riders with the scheme which would make almost impossible for poor Muslim girls to fulfill the conditions or match the criteria to get become a beneficiary.Providing financial assistance for the marriage of poor Muslim girls was initiated by the previous Congress Government. The present government has only enhanced the amount from Rs 25,000 to Rs 51,000. “While we welcome the scheme and enhancement of budget, the Chief Minister should realize that the government would need Rs 205 crore to fulfill the promise of funding 40,000 marriages. Therefore, instead of releasing paltry sums, the government should release adequate funds to fulfill the promise in letter and spirit,” he demanded.
The Congress leader said the announcement of 12 per cent reservation to Muslims is proving to be a hollow promise. While making representation to the 14th Finance Commission, the Chief Minister made a mention of giving reservation to STs, but deliberately avoided Muslim reservation, he alleged. Therefore, instead of reiterating the promise of giving 12 per cent reservation from different platforms, the Chief Minister should implement the same to ensure that its benefits reach the poor deserving Muslim youth.
Despite making repeated announcements of giving Rs 1,000 crore budget for minorities welfare in Telangana, the TRS Government did not release even one-fifth of the regular budget to the minority institutions. The government is yet to pay the scholarships to students for the current academic year and clear arrears of three installments of Fee Reimbursement which runs into several hundred crores. As many as 55 Engineering and B Pharmacy minority colleges were not given permission to admit students for the year 2014-15. As a result, nearly 9,000 seats were lost. It is highly condemnable that the government did not react on this issue of grave concern. (NSS)