Congress Has Worked To Empower Muslims: Shabbir Ali

Former Minister Mohammed Ali Shabbir today said that the Congress was the party that was responsible for the political empowerment of the socially and economically backward Muslim communities in both the Telugu-speaking states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

Shabbir Ali claimed that as many as 43 Muslim corporators had won seats in the recently concluded GHMC elections as a result of the party's efforts.

"It is due to the efforts of the previous Congress regime that so many corporators from the Muslim community have been elected to the GHMC. The number of Muslim corporators would have been a meagre 13 if the Congress had not classified the socially and economically backward Muslims as a backward class in the BC-E category. A total of 30 Muslims were able to win seats in this year's GHMC elections owing to the reservations for the BCs," the Congress leader said.

"Muslims falling under the BC-E category were also made eligible for the seats reserved for BCs in the urban local body and Gram Panchayat elections. This was implemented for the first time in the GHMC elections held in 2009. As a result, of a total of 45 Muslim corporators belonging to all the contesting parties, 18 were elected to the seats reserved for the BCs, while 27 were elected to unreserved seats. Similarly, of the 46 Muslim corporators elected in the 2016 GHMC elections, a total of 29 were elected to the reserved seats, and 17 were elected to unreserved ones. This time, too, of the 43 Muslim corporators, 30 were elected to the BC reserved seats," he added.

He also said that the previous YSR government of undivided Andhra Pradesh had implemented a 4% quota for Muslims in jobs and in the education sector after coming to power in 2004.

He however pointed out that the Congress had not itself benefitted by implementing the Muslim quota.

"Of the 30 Muslim corporators elected due to the reservation, 27 are MIM members while the remaining three are from the TRS. The Congress government has never implemented any policies for narrow political gains. It has always worked only to truly empower the backward and marginalised sections of society," he claimed.

Lashing out at the MIM and the TRS for questioning the Congress' commitment to the Muslim community, he added, "MIM and TRS leaders who often ask the Congress what it did for the Muslim community, should look at these figures before raising such pointless questions. We promised to reserve 5% of the seats in jobs and educational institutions for the Muslims in our 2004 election manifesto, and were able to implement this just 58 days after coming to power. On the other hand, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, who had promised to reserve 12% of the seats in jobs and educational institutions in April 2014, has been unable to do so even after seven years in power."