Hyderabad: The Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee on Thursday accused the BJP and BRS of working together to prevent Azharuddin’s cabinet entry, calling the move discriminatory and politically motivated.
TPCC spokesperson Syed Nizamuddin criticised a BJP complaint to the Chief Electoral Officer alleging violation of the Model Code of Conduct over Azharuddin’s proposed induction. He said this was part of a broader conspiracy to deny political representation to minorities, particularly in the Jubilee Hills constituency.
Nizamuddin alleged that the BJP and BRS were jointly opposing the appointment of former Indian cricket captain Mohammed Azharuddin to the state cabinet solely because he belonged to the minority community. He cited BRS MLC K. Kavitha’s previous statements to claim that the two parties shared a covert alliance.
He further stated that the BJP had pressured the Governor to delay Azharuddin’s oath-taking. “The BJP knows it cannot win in Jubilee Hills, which is why it has fielded a weak candidate to indirectly help the BRS,” he said.
Congress defends Azharuddin’s cabinet entry as inclusive governance
Nizamuddin pointed to the BJP’s own conduct in Rajasthan, where in December 2023, its government appointed Sri Karanpur bypoll candidate Surendra Pal Singh to the cabinet just 20 days before polling. “If that was not a violation, why object now?” he asked, accusing the BJP of hypocrisy.
He said the BJP’s resistance was rooted in communal bias rather than constitutional principle. “The opposition to Azharuddin’s induction exposes the BJP’s anti-minority mindset,” he said.
Calling on voters to reject what he described as a BJP-BRS alliance against inclusive representation, Nizamuddin said the Revanth Reddy-led Congress government remained committed to equitable governance. He urged minority voters to support a political structure that guaranteed justice and participation for all communities.
