· Congress Govt had spent more on minorities’ welfare than BRS Govt
Hyderabad, July 24: Congress senior leader and TPCC Political Affairs Committee (PAC) Convener Mohammed Ali Shabbir has criticized the BRS Government’s proposed “Minorities Bandhu” scheme, calling it a “farce” and an attempt to deceive the poor jobless youth belonging to the minority community.
Shabbir Ali, in a media statement on Monday, said that the BRS Govt, headed by Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao has done nothing for the jobless youth of minority communities in Telangana. He pointed out that in 2015-16, more than 1.53 lakh jobless youth applied for loans when Telangana State Minorities Finance Corporation called for applications. However, their applications were discarded and no applications were even sought for the next seven years. Recently, when the TSMFC invited fresh applications, again more than 2.20 lakh jobless youth applied for it. However, these applications too remained unprocessed.
Shabbir Ali said that CM KCR deceived the minorities using delay tactics. First, a meagre amount of Rs. 50 crore was allocated and when Congress protested, another Rs. 70 crore was added. However, even this amount is not enough to benefit all the jobless youth who have applied for loans. To cover up this failure, CM KCR came up with a fresh idea of launching the “Minority Bandhu” scheme to provide Rs 1 Lakh financial assistance to the Minority communities with a 100 per cent subsidy, he alleged.
However, Shabbir Ali pointed out that the announcement was made with no clarity on the total amount to be disbursed and the deadline to complete the process. He said that KCR was an expert in implementing delay tactics and there are strong possibilities that the process of approval would be dragged till the release of election notification and poor minorities would be deprived of loans on the pretext of a Model Code of Conduct. They will be asked to vote in favour of BRS and MIM if they want their applications to be approved, he said.
The Congress leader ridiculed CM KCR’s claims of spending on the welfare of minorities by his Govt. He said that spending on welfare is not calculated based on figures alone, but also on the percentage of the total budget allocated to it and the year-on-year increase in the budget.
“Examining the decade from 2004 to 2014 under the Congress Govt, we notice an impressive growth in the allocation for minority welfare. The total budget grew approximately 3.15 times during this period, from Rs. 51,142 crores in 2004-05 to Rs. 1,61,348 crores in 2013-14. However, the allocation for minorities’ welfare saw an even more significant surge, increasing by 26.33 times, from Rs. 39.03 crores in 2004-05 to Rs. 1,027 crores in 2013-14. There was also a noticeable year-on-year increase in budget allocation, which peaked at a substantial 110.02% growth in 2013-14,” the former minister said.
Moreover, Shabbir Ali said that the share of minority welfare in the total budget increased gradually over the years. It started at a mere 0.08% in 2004-05 and grew to 0.64% in 2013-14, underscoring the Govt’s prioritization of minority welfare.
“Turning to the BRS Govt, from 2014-15 to 2023-24, we find a different story. The total budget increased approximately 2.89 times during this period, from Rs. 1,00,637 crores to Rs. 2,90,396 crores. However, when it comes to minority welfare, the growth was significantly lower than during the Congress era. The budget for minorities’ welfare increased by approximately 2.14 times, from Rs. 1,030 crores in 2014-15 to Rs. 2,200 crores in 2023-24. This stark contrast in welfare budget growth rates between the two Govts is quite telling,” he said.
Further, he said that the year-on-year increase under the BRS Govt saw a significant dip as low as -31.83% in 2019-20. Furthermore, the percentage of the total budget allocated for minority welfare under the BRS Govt also showed a downward trend, falling to as low as 0.67% in 2022-23.
“The statistics reveal a stark contrast between the two Govts in terms of minority welfare spending. The BRS Govt failed to fully utilize the allocated funds, with actual spending reportedly falling to around 60% of the allocated amount. On the other hand, the Congress Govt showed a strong commitment to minority welfare by increasing the allocation consistently and significantly over the years. It also implemented various schemes and initiatives such as the 4% BC-E Muslim reservation in jobs and education and the establishment of several residential schools and colleges for minorities,” he said.
Shabbir Ali asked the people, especially the minorities, to be cautious with the false promises and fake claims of BRS Govt. He said that before believing any other promise of KCR, they should recall how many times he made similar promises in the last nine years and did not fulfill them.