BRS claims credit for Azharuddin cabinet inclusion amid minority representation criticism
Hyderabad: Bharat Rashtra Samithi senior leader Shaik Abdullah Sohail declared Thursday that his party deserved credit for forcing the Congress government to include former cricket captain Mohammed Azharuddin in Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy’s cabinet.
Sohail accused the Congress administration of insulting Muslims by denying them cabinet representation for nearly 22 months despite the community comprising approximately 15 percent of Telangana’s population. The BRS leader argued that only sustained criticism from his party compelled the Congress high command to recognize the political damage and hastily announce the Azharuddin cabinet inclusion.
The opposition leader recalled that Chief Minister Revanth Reddy had previously justified the absence of Muslim cabinet members by stating no Muslim legislator won on a Congress ticket during the 2023 Assembly elections. However, Sohail countered that the ruling party also failed to accommodate Muslim leaders through the Legislative Council route.
Sohail highlighted the case of Amer Ali Khan, who received nomination as MLC under the Governor’s quota but remained excluded from the cabinet for 13 months. When the Supreme Court subsequently cancelled Khan’s nomination alongside that of Telangana Jana Samithi president Prof Kodandaram, the Chief Minister removed him without dignity and substituted him with Azharuddin.
BRS questions longevity of Azharuddin cabinet inclusion decision
The BRS leader expressed doubts about the permanence of Azharuddin’s appointment, noting that his MLC position remains subject to the Supreme Court’s final ruling. Sohail suggested that Chief Minister Revanth Reddy himself harbored uncertainty about whether Azharuddin would complete his full term.
Furthermore, the opposition politician characterized the move as a desperate political maneuver designed to mislead Muslim voters ahead of the Jubilee Hills by-election. He claimed Congress leaders could no longer enter Muslim neighborhoods without facing pointed questions about their neglect of the community.
Sohail appealed to voters to reject the Congress party and support the BRS to ensure governmental accountability. He warned that only electoral defeat would force the Congress to honor its commitments seriously, otherwise the party would continue deceiving minorities with symbolic gestures.
The BRS leader reminded audiences that the Congress had made twelve specific promises in its minority declaration, including allocating Rs 4,000 crore annually for minority welfare, establishing a minority sub-plan ensuring 100 percent budget utilization, and providing Rs 1,000 crore in subsidized loans for minority youth. According to Sohail, none of these pledges had been fulfilled to date, and the BRS would persist in its struggle until the Congress government ceased ignoring the Muslim community and honored its stated commitments.
