HCCC minority wing head Sameer Waliullah today stated that the Congress was devising a plan to "re-connect" the party with minority groups of the city.
The minorities department head of the Hyderabad City Congress Committee (HCCC) Sameer Waliullah today stated that the party was currently chalking out a fresh strategy to "re-connect" the party with the minority communities of the city.
"The problems of the Muslims, Christians and other minority communities in Telangana have multiplied under the rule of the TRS regime. These communities, including the Muslims, constitute nearly 15% of the total population of the state. However, they have continually been facing huge discrimination and utter neglect since 2014. We will soon begin the process of compiling the list of the major problems concerning these communities and will devise a strategy to seek their redressal," Waliullah revealed in a media statement.
The leader said that TPCC head A Revanth Reddy, in his address during the Eid Milap function held on July 31, had pointed out several issues concerning the Muslims and other minority groups in Telangana, especially Hyderabad.
"In his speech at the Eid Milap function, MP Revanth Reddy has already given a broad outline of how the Congress will approach the people to re-connect them with the party. We will follow his directions and ensure that the party regains its hold among the minority groups in Telangana and especially in Hyderabad," he said.
Elaborating on the issues raised by Reddy in his speech, Waliullah continued, "The problems of minorities are not religion-specific but rather region-specific. Housing, employment, education, civic amenities, safety, and access to healthcare, public transportation, drinking water, and roads, are among the major issues concerning these groups. In Hyderabad, they constitute nearly 50% of the total population. Since the TRS government has, so far, done little to address such issues in the last seven years, our party will evolve a strategy to raise these issues in an effective manner to get the government to address them."
The HCCC official then added, "Big promises were made to the people of the Greater Hyderabad area ahead of the 2016 and 2020 GHMC elections. For instance, lakhs of applications were collected from the poor who had been promised 2BHK houses in 2016 by the TRS and the MIM. However, all those applications were trashed once the local body elections got over. Similarly, thousands who had suffered losses due to heavy rains in the city had been promised compensation of Rs 10,000. Although the amount was inadequate, even this paltry sum was not paid to the flood victims after last year's GHMC elections. Almost 80% of a total of 18 lakh unemployed youth in the state who had registered themselves with the TSPSC are from Hyderabad. Of them, at least 40% are either Muslims or belong to some other minority community. Lakhs lost their jobs and sources of employment during the lockdown. Nothing has been done to provide livelihood security to them. Therefore, unemployment remains the major issue concerning minorities."
He went on to explain that the HCC's minorities wing would prepare a strategy to conduct "subject-wise protest meetings" with the aim of creating awareness among the public while also using the demonstrations to "build pressure" on the state government to solve the problems.