Hyderabad, April 16 : The Congress party on Saturday demanded that the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) Government should provide loans to minority youth and not the alms in the shape of Ramzan kits to poor Muslims. Supporting the call given for a boycott of the Iftar party to be hosted by Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, Hyderabad City Congress Committee (HCCC) Minorities Department Chairman Sameer Waliullah, in a statement, said that the Iftar party being hosted by KCR or distribution of Ramzan kits worth Rs. 200-300 each among poor families would not help the comm ty in any manner. “Instead of serving one free meal in a year, the State Government should create job opport ties for the youth belonging to minority comm ties. They will be able to earn their bread and butter for the rest of their lives if they are provided with loans or other job-related assistance. Therefore, the State Government should focus on creating employment opport ties for all,” he demanded. Sameer Waliullah alleged that the TRS Government was misleading the minorities regarding their welfare by creating hype around Iftar dinner and Ramzan kits. As against Telangana’s annual budget of Rs. 2.56 lakh crore, a small amount of Rs. 1,728 crore, which is just 0.12 per cent of the total budget, has been allocated for the welfare of minorities. Not even 50 per cent of the allocated budget was ever spent during the last 7-8 years for the real purpose. Using some sycophant leaders like the Home Minister and media publicity, the Chief Minister creates a hype as if his government was spending a huge amount on the minorities’ welfare. He said “TRS Govt does not believe in economic empowerment of Muslims and KCR enjoys the scenes of poor Muslims standing in long queues to collect the Rs. 100-200 worth of Ramzan kits every year. Therefore, Muslim youth and also their families must decide whether they should ask for jobs and loans or seek alms before the TRS Govt,” Waliullah said. The Congress leader alleged that the TRS Government has deliberately stopped or delayed the release of funds for the schemes related to higher education and employment. He said that the Telangana State Minorities Finance Corporation did not disburse loans to jobless minority youth even once after its formation in 2014. Nearly 1.53 lakh applications were received by the Corporation in the year 2015-16. None of these applicants got the loans and the corporation later stopped receiving the applications. Sameer Waliullah said “TRS Government claims that it distributes Ramzan Gift packs among 4 lakh poor Muslim families. Instead of giving Rs. 200-300 worth gift packs, the State Government must consider giving Rs 1 lakh loan to each of those 4 lakh families to start their small trades or self-employment scheme. If properly implemented, this move could turn at least 50 per cent of those beneficiaries into economically self-reliant. The HCCC Miniorities Department Chairman said If Chandrashekar Rao is truly secular and wants minorities to grow economically, then he must allocate just Rs. 4,000 crore for the scheme. When KCR can announce Rs 10 lakh to over 17 lakh Dalit families in the State, then he should not have any problem in giving at least Rs 1 lakh each to nearly 4 Lakh poor Muslim families,” he added. VV CS1702
