Hyderabad: Irrigation and Civil Supplies Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy on Tuesday said the Congress remains India’s only truly secular party “from Delhi to Gully” and the only force strong enough to defeat the BJP and protect minorities.
Addressing a minority meeting at Yousufguda during the Jubilee Hills by-election campaign, Uttam Kumar Reddy said regional parties like the BRS were politically unreliable. “They divide the secular vote and help the BJP grow,” he stated.
Uttam Kumar Reddy says Congress alone can defend secularism and minority rights
He compared the BRS to the Telugu Desam Party, saying both weakened due to alliances with the BJP. “Wherever regional parties expand, Congress weakens and the BJP gains,” he said.
Uttam Kumar Reddy said that during the BRS government, nearly 80 per cent of minority colleges had closed and welfare programmes remained incomplete. In contrast, the Congress had introduced a ₹4,000 crore Minority Declaration and launched a Minority Sub-Plan. “The process has started, and ₹1,000 crore in subsidies has been earmarked,” he explained.
Highlighting recent achievements, he said 2,200 new engineering seats were created for minority students, along with new law and pharmacy colleges. He also recalled that between 2004 and 2014, six medical colleges were sanctioned for minorities. “Education is empowerment. Congress has always linked welfare with opportunity,” he said.
He noted that the extension of BC reservations under previous Congress rule had enabled many Muslims to become sarpanches and Zilla Parishad members. “That is true political empowerment,” he added.
Uttam Kumar Reddy also credited the Congress for introducing 4% reservation for minorities and opposing the proposed Wakf Amendment Act, which Telangana resisted first. “Other states followed our lead,” he said.
He highlighted Congress’s historic contributions, noting that the first minority budget in 1993–94 was ₹2 crore, which grew to over ₹1,000 crore by 2013–14. At the national level, he said, the UPA government created the Ministry of Minority Affairs and expanded its budget 27 times.
Comparing Congress with BJP and BRS, he said both had reduced funds for minorities. “BJP cut scholarships and welfare grants, and BRS remained silent. They prioritise convenience, not conviction,” he remarked.
He urged minority voters in Jubilee Hills to unite behind Congress candidate Naveen Yadav. “Every vote for Congress is a vote for secularism, social justice, and constitutional rights,” he said, amid applause.
