KCR Praises Nizam Again, Showers More Sops On Muslims

Slamming the opposition parties for dubbing him "Naya Nizam", Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao on Thursday declared that he would push for the rewriting of the history of the erstwhile ruler of Hyderabad who is commonly portrayed as a tyrant.

"We must condemn bad incidents but at the same time we should also praise the good things that he had done," he said.

During a short discussion on minority welfare in the Assembly on Thursday, KCR said that if the people of Andhra Pradesh could celebrate the birth anniversary of British engineer Sir Arthur Thomas Cotton, who had designed the Prakasam and Dowleswaram barrages, despite the Britishers ruling India in an oppressive way for over 200 years, then what was wrong in the people of Telangana eulogizing the erstwhile Nizam who had undertaken several initiatives for the good of the region and its people.

Talking about his own government's outreach to the minorities, the Chief Minister said that his government had introduced a better budget for the welfare of the Muslims than that of any of the previous governments. While the previous Congress government had spent Rs 932 crores in its 10-year regime on the minorities, the TRS government had ear-marked Rs 2,146 crores for minority welfare in just the last three years, KCR said.

He also said that he was determined to make his election promise of a 12% quota for Muslims a reality. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had responded positively to the proposal, KCR claimed, but added that even if the Union government did not clear the Telangana government's proposal to amend the Constitution to allow the quota (to bypass the Supreme Court cap of 50% for reservations), he would go to the Supreme Court to get the permission.

Referring to the Wakf lands in the state, the CM said it had come to his notice that there were no details of the lands owned by the Waqf Board. These details would be known once the ongoing purification of land records was completed, he said.

KCR also announced that the state government would now disburse Rs 1,500 in pension to imams and moazams, and was also considering the same for pastors.

During the discussion, the CM also declared Urdu as the second official language of the state. KCR said that the state government would fill 900 posts through a special Urdu DSC. He also announced the appointment of 90 Urdu officers in government offices across the state over the next 60 days. The state government had also addressed a letter to the Prime Minister to conduct NEET in Urdu, too, he said. The state government itself would also conduct all competitive examinations in Urdu as well, he added.

Speaking about the allotment of two acres of land by the Rajasthan governmnet to Telangana, KCR said that the state government would construct a rubath at the Ajmer Dargah.

He also announced that the government would consider providing monetary help to those visiting Jerusalem, the birthplace of the Christ.