Hyderabad: Tahreek Muslim Shabban president Mohammed Mushtaq Mallik accused the ruling Congress government in Telangana of neglecting key minority institutions and demanded an urgent review of their functioning. He particularly flagged the functioning of the state Waqf Board, Minorities Finance Corporation, Urdu Academy and Minorities Commission.
Addressing a meeting of the TMS Majlis-e-Aala, or central committee at its headquarters on Sunday, August 23, Mallik said the Telangana government’s performance on minority issues during its tenure over the past 32 months showed “serious gaps in institutional functioning, transparency, accessibility and political representation”.
“Transparency in Waqf administration is essential. People have a right to know the status of properties worth enormous amounts and how much revenue the Board is earning from them,” he said. The Tahreek Muslim Shabban president added that the state Waqf Board had not held a meeting for more than two years and further alleged that neither officials nor those responsible for the Minorities Welfare Department have explained reasons for the same.
He demanded that the board publicly disclose the total extent and estimated value of Waqf properties across Telangana, properties involved in litigation or under alleged encroachment, and the income being generated from these assets.
‘Value of properties affected in disputes could be around Rs 8 0 10 lakh Cr’
Referring to disputes involving Waqf properties associated with Dargah Hazrat Hussain Shah Wali, Jamia Nizamia and Guttala Begumpet, Mallik claimed that the value of properties affected in major disputes could be around Rs 8 lakh crore to Rs 10 lakh crore, which he said was comparable to nearly four years of Telangana’s Budget.
Mallik said that the Tahreek Muslim Shabban had earlier raised issues relating to protection of Waqf properties and transparency in the Board’s functioning and would continue to pursue them. He also criticised the functioning of the Telangana State Minorities Finance Corporation, saying its activities appeared to have been reduced largely to distribution programmes such as sewing machines.
The TMS head also questioned the present status and functioning of the Telangana State Urdu Academy. “He said Urdu was the second official language of Telangana but alleged that the language and its institutions were being weakened instead of strengthened,” stated Mallik, according to a press release from his office.
Congress needs to examine failure in getting Muslim leaders elected: Mallik
The meeting also reviewed Muslim political representation under the Congress Government. The Tahreek Muslim Shabban president alleged that Muslim representation in the Legislative Council had been ignored for nearly two years before former cricketer Mohammed Azharuddin was eventually nominated under the Governor’s quota. He said Muslims had historically enjoyed greater representation, including about three MLCs at certain stages in Telangana and as many as five in undivided Andhra Pradesh.
He further said the Congress had not been able to elect a Muslim MLA on its ticket in Telangana for nearly 15 years and argued that the party needed to examine the reasons for this failure. Mallik said that called Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s observation that Muslims had failed to elect their own representatives as untenable. According to Mallik, Muslim voters played a decisive role in nearly 20 Assembly constituencies and the Congress might not have formed the government without their support.
He argued that while Muslims voted for Congress candidates belonging to other communities, the party was unable to secure adequate support from other sections for its Muslim candidates, with a section of those votes moving towards the BJP. “The issue that needs examination is why Muslim votes could be transferred to Congress candidates, while the party could not secure votes from other communities for its Muslim candidates,” he said.
No strong position of Muslims in the ruling establishment: Mallik
Mallik said the present position of Muslims in the ruling establishment required serious consideration as there was no strong and accessible Muslim leader through whom community grievances could be effectively represented. He alleged that ordinary Muslims were finding it difficult even to meet those presently holding positions of responsibility in the government.
Minority representation, he said, should not merely be symbolic but should involve experienced leaders capable of understanding community issues and taking them effectively to the government. He demanded that the State Government review all minority institutions, fill vacant positions, ensure regular meetings of statutory bodies, publish administrative and financial details and establish an effective grievance-redressal mechanism accessible to ordinary people.
