Crime Today News
Hyderabad: The Congress government in Telangana has completed 17 months in office, but the Muslim community continues to wait for meaningful political representation. Despite early promises, no Muslim minister has been appointed so far, leaving many within the community disappointed.
From the beginning, the portfolio of Minority Welfare was retained by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy himself. At the time, it was said this move would ensure quicker resolution of minority issues. However, in reality, most Muslim leaders and organizations have found it difficult to reach the Chief Minister directly. Even senior Muslim leaders from within the Congress party have struggled to present the concerns of the community.
Now, with the recent induction of three new ministers into the cabinet, hopes were once again raised. Many expected the long-awaited appointment of a Muslim minister. Instead, the Minority Welfare portfolio has been handed over to Laxman Kumar, a first-time MLA from Dharmapuri constituency, a region with a very small Muslim population.
What’s more, Laxman Kumar now holds the same portfolios once managed by Koppula Eshwar during the BRS government. Interestingly, both leaders come from the same constituency and community (SC), raising questions about whether this is just a coincidence or part of a political strategy. While KCR, as Chief Minister, maintained regular contact with Muslim leaders, the same cannot be said of the current administration.
The concern among minority communities is that the new minister may not be familiar with the issues faced by Muslims. Given his limited experience and the demographics of his constituency, there is little expectation that he will be able to address the unique challenges of minority welfare effectively.
Many now feel that it would have been better if the Chief Minister had either kept the portfolio with himself or assigned it to a more experienced minister with better understanding of minority issues.
Despite the Congress winning with strong support from Muslims, the absence of a Muslim face in the cabinet has caused deep concern. The party cannot claim a shortage of capable Muslim leaders. Even though no Muslim MLAs were elected, the Congress does have representation in the Legislative Council, in the form of MLC Amer Ali Khan.
Muslim organizations and citizens are questioning the government’s seriousness about its promise of inclusive representation. According to official surveys, Muslims make up 12.56% of Telangana’s population which is roughly 44.57 lakh people, with 10.08% classified as backward Muslims and 2.48% as others. By comparison, Scheduled Castes make up 61.84 lakh and Scheduled Tribes 37.05 lakh but both of which received cabinet representation.
Rahul Gandhi had earlier assured communities of proportional political representation based on population with slogan of ‘Jitni Aabadi, Utna Haq’, but that promise is yet to be fulfilled in Telangana. Many now feel that minority concerns would be better addressed by a minister from the community who understands their day-to-day challenges.
The wait for a Muslim minister continues. So does the growing disappointment.
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