On the eve of National Education Day, the Chief Minister criticised the Centre over scholarships and alleged attempts to undermine Muslim reservation and voting rights
HYDERABAD — Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has defended the state’s four per cent reservation for Muslims and accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of pursuing policies that undermine the educational and constitutional rights of minorities.
Addressing a National Education Day and Minority Welfare programme at Banjara Bhavan, Reddy criticised the BJP-led Central government over the suspension and discontinuation of scholarships for minority students, particularly Muslims. He alleged that the Centre was deliberately obstructing their access to higher education by withholding financial assistance.
The Chief Minister said the Telangana government would not compromise on the educational future of Muslim students and would continue to defend their scholarships and other educational entitlements.
Paying tribute to Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, India’s first Education Minister, Reddy highlighted his contribution to building the country’s educational infrastructure. He said the foundations laid by Azad had helped Indian students achieve recognition internationally.
He credited Azad’s vision and the historic decisions taken by the Congress leadership with the establishment and expansion of prominent universities, Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs).
Reddy said his government was seeking to carry forward that educational legacy by upgrading IITs into Advanced Training Centres (ATCs) and establishing the Young India Skills University to promote quality education and vocational training.
He also highlighted the state government’s allocation of substantial funds for minority welfare. Among its development initiatives, he mentioned the proposed expansion of the Metro rail network into Hyderabad’s Old City and the Musi River rejuvenation project, saying these measures were intended to promote development in minority-concentrated areas.
On Muslim reservations, Reddy accused the BJP of repeatedly opposing the four per cent quota and threatening to abolish it. He questioned what he described as the party’s inconsistent position, claiming that Muslim reservations were also in place in Gujarat, a state governed by the BJP, while the party was raising objections to the quota in Telangana.
The Chief Minister also alleged that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls was being used to remove the names of poor Muslims on a large scale, thereby weakening their democratic participation.
He said the Congress would resist what he described as the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s anti-minority measures.
The programme was attended by Telangana ministers Mohammed Azharuddin and Srinivas Reddy; MPs M Narendra Reddy and Anil Kumar Yadav; government advisers Mohammed Ali Shabbir and V Hanumantha Rao; MLA Danam Nagender; Telangana Minority Residential Educational Institutions Society vice-chairman Faheem Qureshi; Urdu Academy chairman Taher Bin Hamdan; State Waqf Board chairman Syed Azmatullah Hussaini; Haj Committee chairman Afzal Biabani; Minority Finance Corporation chairman Ubaidullah Kotwal; Principal Secretary for Minority Welfare Ahmed Nadeem; Secretary B Shafiullah; and other officials and representatives.
