Hyderabad: Senior BRS leader Shaik Abdullah Sohail on Saturday accused the Congress government and AIMIM of a “double failure” on minority welfare. He said the just-concluded Legislature session exposed poor government spending and inadequate pressure from AIMIM.
Sohail said government figures showed expenditure of Rs 1,972.17 crore against Rs 5,100.97 crore allocated for minority welfare schemes over two financial years. This amounted to 38.7% of the allocation, he said.
“This is not an allegation made by the Opposition. These are figures admitted by the government itself before the Legislature,” Sohail said. He added that nearly two-thirds of the allocated amount remained unspent.
According to Sohail, spending was lower in the last financial year. He said Rs 1,010.63 crore was spent against an allocation of Rs 2,844.02 crore, or 35.5%.
The figures related to the Scheme Budget and excluded salaries, establishment costs and other non-scheme expenditure of the Minority Welfare Department.
Sohail said the government had also acknowledged that minority welfare allocations were not linked to the community’s 14.27% share of Telangana’s population.
He accused Congress of making large Budget announcements without ensuring that the money reached beneficiaries. “An allocation that remains on paper cannot educate a student, finance a poor family or create employment,” he said.
Sohail also raised the issue of scholarships and fee reimbursement. He said the government acknowledged during the session that thousands of crores remained outstanding across different communities.
Reports also recorded the government’s decision to call an all-party meeting after concerns were raised over the pending payments. Sohail said minority students were among those affected by the delays. The pending scholarship issue had also reached the High Court earlier this year.
“Students do not study on Budget speeches. Colleges do not run on assurances,” Sohail said. He argued that delayed scholarships and fee reimbursement defeated the purpose of the schemes.
AIMIM accused of failing to sustain pressure
Turning to AIMIM, Sohail alleged that the party had reduced its interventions on minority issues to occasional action inside the Assembly. He accused it of failing to maintain political pressure outside the House.
Sohail acknowledged that AIMIM legislators had raised fee reimbursement, scholarships, Waqf properties and other issues in the Legislature. However, he said speeches and representations could not replace a sustained campaign for implementation.
“AIMIM wants Muslims to believe that asking a few questions in the Assembly amounts to a struggle,” he said. He questioned why the party had not launched protests over unspent funds and delayed scholarships.
Sohail also accused AIMIM of failing to use its political strength in Hyderabad to press the government on minority welfare. “Accountability cannot be seasonal,” he said.
He also targeted both parties over the protection of Waqf properties. Sohail said Waqf land had figured prominently in the Section 22-A controversy.
However, he said long-pending matters required concrete action. These included surveys, encroachments, reconciliation of Waqf and revenue records, and protection of disputed properties.
Sohail said fresh allocations could not establish the government’s commitment when earlier minority welfare funds remained substantially unspent. He said the key issue was how much money was actually released and spent.
“The government may announce another Rs 2,000 crore or Rs 3,000 crore tomorrow. The real question is: how much will actually be released and spent?” he said.
Sohail demanded public disclosure of the scheme-wise financial position of minority welfare programmes. He sought details of allocations, releases, expenditure, beneficiaries and pending applications.
He said the Legislature session had left two questions unresolved. He questioned why the Congress government had not spent the allocated funds and why AIMIM had not mounted sustained pressure over the issue.
“Minorities need neither Congress assurances nor AIMIM speeches,” Sohail said. He called for timely scholarships, implementation of welfare schemes, protection of Waqf properties and expenditure of the money allocated for minority development.