No Muslim representation in Telangana cabinet for first time: BRS leader

Hyderabad: BRS leader and former Chairman of Telangana Minority Finance Corporation, Muhammad Imtiaz Ishaq, has raised serious concerns over the lack of Muslim representation in the state cabinet and the non-disbursement of minority welfare funds.

Speaking to the media, Imtiaz Ishaq pointed out that for the first time in the history of united Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, there has been no Muslim minister in the cabinet for the past 17 months. He demanded the immediate inclusion of a Muslim representative in Chief Minister Revanth Reddy’s cabinet.

He compared the current Congress government’s performance with that of the previous BRS government, saying that former CM K. Chandrashekar Rao had given high importance to minority representation and had safeguarded the interests of Muslims. He called the BRS period a “golden era” for minorities.

Imtiaz Ishaq also alleged that under the Revanth Reddy-led Congress government, over 20 incidents targeting Muslims have occurred across the state. He accused the Congress of making false promises to minorities during the Assembly elections but failing to fulfil them after coming to power.

He said the Congress had promised to increase the minority welfare budget to Rs.5,000 crore but did not allocate this amount in either of the two full budgets presented so far. Even the funds approved have not been fully released, with less than 40% reaching the concerned departments.

Due to the lack of funds, key minority institutions like the Minority Finance Corporation, Waqf Board, and Urdu Academy are unable to function properly, he said.

Ishaq also expressed disappointment that no major announcement was made by the Chief Minister during his visit to the Hajj House to send off Hajj pilgrims. He said the number of students in minority schools is falling, and there is growing dissatisfaction among Muslims over the Congress government’s performance.