Shabbir flays CM for not including pics of Muslim patriots in govt ad

Hyderabad: Former minister & ex-leader of Opposition Mohammed Ali Shabbir has strongly criticised Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao for not including the photos of Muslim freedom fighters in the official advertisement issued by the government on 'Swatantra Bharat Vajrotsavalu' published on August 8.

"The TRS government did not include the picture of any freedom fighter belonging to the Muslim community. Although it is incorrect to identify the freedom fighters, who fought and even laid down their lives for the country's independence, based on their religion, we are forced to raise the issue when you selectively omitted the pictures of Muslim freedom fighters from the official advertisement. The advertisement was published on the occasion of the anniversary of the Quit India Movement.

But it is highly condemnable that the government has not included in its advertisement the picture of Moulana Abul Kalaam Azad who had spent a large part of his life in jail for his participation in India's freedom movement. During the Quit India movement, Moulana Azad was imprisoned from 1942 to 1945 with other senior leaders of the Congress party," Shabbir said in an open letter addressed the CM on Wednesday. The Congress leader said that the non-inclusion of a picture of any Muslim freedom fighter in the advertisement for 'Swatantra Bharat Vajrotsavalu' has once again exposed the 'communal mentality' of the TRS government. However, he said, if the non-inclusion of the picture of Moulana Azad and other freedom fighters was due to error, then the government must prove its sincerity by taking exemplary action against those responsible for the mistake.

"Thousands of Muslims have sacrificed their lives for India's independence. I need not mention their names as the entire nation knows about their contribution and sacrifices. By avoiding their pictures in official advertisements KCR cannot undermine the role they played in bringing freedom to the country he alleged.