Hyderabad: With Telangana Assembly going to polls by this year’s end, a group of Muslim Congress workers have formed a joint action committee under the Sarvodaya banner to press for more representation to the Muslim community. Not just in allotment of Assembly tickets but a fair representation to them in various panels right from DCC, PCC to AICC.
In the wake of the spectacular performance of the Congress in Karnataka, the minority party workers feel it is time the community gets its due share. The recently formed Sarvodaya Joint Action Group (S-JAG) has about 30 members who hold dear the core ideological values of Congress party espoused by Mahatma Gandhi such as welfare for all and justice for all. They further strongly believe that no individual or group should be suppressed, exploited or marginalized.
Urdu speaking Hyderabadi community, the S-JAG feels, has been badly neglected with their total absence or extremely low representation. “This badly hurts the Hyderabadiyat emotion”, says M.A. Basith, the man behind the S-JAG who is also a member of AICC Congress Sandesh.
This IT professional turned politician has dashed off letters of concern to Manikrao Thakare, AICC in-charge of Telangana State, Koppula Raju, National Coordinator, SC, ST and Minorities and PCC president, Reventh Reddy seeking greater representation to the minorities in the ensuing Assembly elections. The group wants at least 15 to 20 percent reservation to minorities, particularly the Deccani Urdu speaking candidates, in various committees set up by the party.
Further the S-JAG demands the Congress high command to consider only minority candidates in the allotment of tickets in constituencies where their presence is more than 25 to 30 percent. “We want the minority community to be given an opportunity to add value to public life. We have immense faith in your leadership to do justice and pay heed to the voice of Hyderabadis as a community,” Basith said in the letter addressed to Thakare.
The S-JAG wants to take forward Rahul Gandhi’s message of opening mohabbat ki dukaan to the nook and corner of Telangana. In the days to come it plans to actively promote the neighborhood concept so as to unite all communities. The group is also batting for uplift of the Urdu language and wants the action to begin right from Gandhi Bhavan, the PCC headquarters.
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