Congress policies revolutionised lives of poor Muslims: Mohammed Ali Shabbir

Hyderabad: Former Minister & ex-Leader of Opposition in Telangana Legislative Council Mohammed Ali Shabbir has claimed that 4% Muslim reservation and the minority colleges given by the previous Congress regime have revolutionised the lives of thousands of poor Muslims in the Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

Addressing a press conference, along with TPCC Senior Vice-President Zafar Javed and other leaders, at Gandhi Bhavan on Friday, Shabbir Ali informed that as many as 934 minority students got admission in 42 government and private medical colleges this year. This is the highest number of Muslim students getting admission to medical colleges in any State in India. This happened only because of the 4% Muslim reservation introduced by the then Congress Govt in 2004-05. Further, the previous Congress regime had sanctioned four minority medical colleges - Deccan, Shadan, Ayaan and Dr VRK Women Medical colleges. Those policies have helped in imparting higher education to Muslims, especially the socially and backward groups classified as BC-E," he said.

"When the Congress Govt headed by Dr Y.S. Rajashekhara Reddy implemented 4% Muslim reservation in 2004-05, we knew it will revolutionise the lives of future generations. As the incharge minister, I faced many obstacles at different stages in implementing the policy. Within 58 days after coming to power, the then Congress Govt implemented 5% Muslim reservation after getting approvals from over 17 departments. The quota was reduced from 5% to 4% following the directions of the High Court. Although the continuation of 4% Muslim reservation depends on the final judgment of the Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court, thousands of socially and economically backward Muslims under BC-E have benefitted from it in the last 19 years," he said.

Shabbir Ali informed that of 6,690 MBBS seats in Telangana for the year 2022-23, students belonging to the minority community got 934 seats. Minorities/Muslims got 179 seats in Govt Colleges, 205 seats in Pvt Colleges and 550 Seats in minority colleges. They include 603 Seats in Category-A (Convener Quota), 209 in Category B (Management Quota) & 122 seats in Category C (NRI Quota). Of 4,409 seats - Under Category - A, Muslims got 179 seats in 18 Govt Medical Colleges, 94 Seats in 20 Pvt Colleges and 330 in Medical Colleges. There are 1,096 seats in Category-B (management quota) in 20 Pvt colleges and minorities got 73 Similarly, there are 479 seats in Category-C in Pvt colleges and Muslims got 38 seats. "I want to congratulate all the students who got the seat and wish them good luck for their bright future," he said.

He said that Congress always believed in long-term solutions. The Sachar Committee, appointed by the then Congress-led UPA Govt in 2006, too had pointed out that Muslims were too behind in higher education. As a long-term solution, the Congress Govt introduced schemes which helped in the eradication of poverty and the socio-economic and educational empowerment of weaker sections including Muslims. The move of giving a 4% quota, led thousands of poor Muslim youth to become doctors and engineers. Today, the number of Muslim doctors and engineers in the two Telugu States must be more than double than the rest of the country, he said.

Shabbir Ali alleged that Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao was only making false claims about the welfare of minorities. He said hundreds of minority colleges were forced to shut down under the TRS regime. KCR Govt did not spend even 70% of the allocated budget and did not give a single rupee loan to the poor jobless youth. Further, not a single institution dealing with minorities' welfare like Urdu Academy, Finance Corporation, etc., was working in a full-fledged manner due to a lack of funds and a shortage of staff. "Unlike KCR Govt, Congress does not believe in cheating any community by giving it a 'chocolate'. We implement schemes which benefit people for several generations. We sow the seeds, water them, protect the plants and allow them to grow into big trees. Once it grows fully, it automatically gives fruit every year," he said.

The Congress leader also demanded that the BRS Govt immediately release the Fee Reimbursement dues. He said lakhs of students who completed their studies were unable to apply for the jobs as the college managements have withheld their original certificates following Fee Reimbursement dues. He said thousands of students were losing several job opportunities and they were also unable to apply for the post being notified by the Telangana Govt.

Shabbir blames BRS Govt for farmers' suicide in Kamareddy

Responding to the suicide committed by farmer B. Ramulu in Kamareddy in protest against the proposed acquisition of his land for the new master plan, Shabbir Ali said that BRS Govt was responsible for the suicide. He said that the State Govt had issued a notification for a new Master Plan for Kamareddy Municipality without involving any stakeholders. He said nearly 620 acres of land have been earmarked for acquisition for the industrial zone. Many agricultural lands which give two crops every year are being taken away by BRS Govt. This is unacceptable and Kamareddy farmers will never accept this defective plan, he said.

He said farmers of many villages including Tekriyal, Adloor, and Inchipur have been holding a protest against the proposed Master Plan. But the BRS Govt is not responding to their agitation. "I've also participated in the agitation and also wrote a letter to Municipal Administration Minister K. Tarakarama Rao in this regard. But the BRS Govt is not responding to any of the protests being held by the opposition or the farmers," he said while adding that the Congress party would intensify the agitation. He said that the death of farmer Ramulu was not a suicide but an 'institutional murder' committed by BRS Govt.