Shabbir Ali slams Union Budget for neglecting minorities and Telangana

Hyderabad: Senior Congress leader and Telangana Government Advisor Mohammed Ali Shabbir on Sunday accused the BJP-led Union government of continuing its neglect of minorities in the 2026–27 Union Budget. He criticized this despite a significant expansion in total expenditure.

Reacting to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s budget presentation, Shabbir Ali noted that the Ministry of Minority Affairs received only ₹3,400 crore this year. This was an increase of barely ₹50 crore over 2025–26. He pointed this out despite the overall Union Budget rising by ₹2.85 lakh crore to ₹53.5 lakh crore.

Calling the allocation “statistically insignificant,” he said the Union government had failed to match the minority welfare spending of individual States. “Telangana alone allocated ₹3,591 crore in 2025–26, and Karnataka provided over ₹4,000 crore through multiple schemes,” he pointed out.

He further stated that in 2013–14, under the UPA government, ₹3,531 crore was earmarked for minority welfare from a total Union Budget of ₹16.65 lakh crore. “Now the budget is ₹53.5 lakh crore, and the minority allocation has dropped to ₹3,400 crore. This is regression, not stagnation,” he said.

Union Budget neglect also hits Telangana state projects

Shabbir Ali added that the Union Budget failed to accommodate Telangana’s key demands. These include funding for Hyderabad Metro Phase-II, the Regional Ring Road, Musi River rejuvenation, and pending commitments under the AP Reorganisation Act.

He said vertical tax devolution remained unchanged at 41%, below Telangana’s request for 50%. There was also no adjustment to fiscal deficit limits or conversion of loans to grants.

The Congress leader also highlighted cuts and stagnation in education-related welfare schemes. He said scholarships, fellowships, and employment programmes for minority youth were among the worst affected.