Telangana: Eyeing Muslim votes, BRS government all set to roll out ₹1 lakh financial assistance scheme

The finance minister did not elaborate on the features of the scheme but said that the BRS government wanted to help the minorities. He recalled the BRS government helping Muslim brides under the Shadi Mubarak scheme.

Related: YSRCP, TDP vow to oppose UCC, protect interests of Muslims

To ensure support of Muslims

As it is election year, it is clear that the BRS government wants to ensure that it would continue to get the support of the minorities even in the unlikely event of the AIMIM throwing its oar in, by fielding its candidates outside Hyderabad.

The AIMIM has been leaving the entire state open for the BRS though it contests elections outside Telangana.

This, analysts surmise, is intended to prevent the division of Muslim votes and thus help the BRS. In return for the help, the BRS does not contest “seriously” in seven Assembly seats in Hyderabad, where the Muslim population is high.

Now with the Congress’ prospects improving, and the AIMIM dropping subtle hints that it would field its candidate for a major number of Assembly seats outside Hyderabad, the BRS is trying to deal with the problem even when it is in the bud.

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‘Will oppose UCC’

The chief minister, also to endear himself with the Muslim minorities, had consented to the request of Muslim elders of Hyderabad that he would oppose tooth and nail the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) when the Bill was presented in Parliament.

He made the promise to a delegation of the elders led by AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi which called on him recently.

The chief minister moved fast even as the Congress remained ambivalent on the issue, deciding to defer a decision on it till the Bill is presented in Parliament or adopt a nuanced approach, by supporting some aspects and opposing others, which Muslims consider as an “escapist” stance, equating it with a “soft Hindutva” line.

At the minority leaders meeting, Harish Rao said that if Muslims in the country were languishing in poverty the credit went to the Congress which ruled for decades.

Also read: Senior Telangana Congress leaders meet at Venkat Reddy’s residence

‘Providing quality education’

In Telangana, the BRS government had allocated ₹2,200 crore for their welfare, which is more than what the Congress had spent in the state on Muslims, Harish Rao said.

He said the state government was providing quality education to Muslim minority children by setting up minority residential schools and colleges.

Harish Rao referred to Salwa Fatima from the old city of Hyderabad, who became Telangana’s first Muslim woman pilot to hold a commercial pilot’s license in 2015 with KCR’s help. (KCR helped her by sanctioning ₹35.5 lakh for her advanced training which she completed in New Zealand and Bahrain and got a job with a top airline.)

“Fatima is now earning ₹5 lakh per month,” Harish Rao said and referred to the provision of overseas scholarships to Muslim youths up to ₹20 lakh to help them pursue their studies abroad.