Shabbir Ali challenges KCR family to debate on welfare, hails 42% BC quota as Congress Govt’s landmark achievement
Hyderabad, July 11: Advisor to the Telangana Government and senior Congress leader Mohammed Ali Shabbir on Friday welcomed the Telangana Cabinet’s historic decision to implement 42% reservations for Backward Classes (BCs) in local body elections, calling it a revolutionary step for social justice and political empowerment of BCs. He said this move belongs solely to the Congress government and reflects its commitment to marginalised communities.
Shabbir Ali also threw an open challenge to former Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao and former ministers K.T. Rama Rao and T. Harish Rao for a public debate on the issue of welfare, particularly on who genuinely worked for BCs.
Addressing the media at Gandhi Bhavan, Shabbir Ali said, “There is a celebratory atmosphere across Telangana. BCs are pouring milk in joy and holding celebrations because Congress has done what BRS and BJP never dared to do. We gave 42% BC reservations not just in words but in action – through an ordinance.”
He said the Congress government under Chief Minister Revanth Reddy had delivered on a key promise made in the Kamareddy Declaration, ensuring BCs get fair representation not just in education and employment, but now in local democratic institutions. “It gives me great pride that this declaration was made in my constituency and my residence in the presence of present Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah,” he added.
He credited Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi for being consistent voices for the rights of backward communities and said their vision was being implemented in Telangana through bold action.
“The Congress party doesn’t believe in empty slogans. From announcing the caste census on February 4, 2024, to preparing the report and passing landmark legislation by February 2025, we have acted with unmatched speed and sincerity,” he said.
Shabbir Ali strongly criticised the previous BRS government for its betrayal of BCs. “KCR reduced BC reservations in Panchayat Raj bodies from 34% to 22%, citing the Indra Sawhney judgment, but made no effort to protect BC rights through data or constitutional means. Instead of empowering BCs, KCR confined them to caste-based professions,” he said.
“While Congress wants BC children to become doctors, engineers, scientists, and political leaders, KCR wanted them to remain barbers, tailors, and washermen under state-sponsored tokenism,” he added.
Highlighting the empirical basis of the Congress policy, Shabbir Ali noted that the caste census showed BCs constitute 56.33% of Telangana’s population. He said Muslims, who form 12.58% of the population, also stand to benefit from the quota, with 10.08% classified under the BC-E category. “This is a direct step towards political and social empowerment of backward Muslims,” he said.
Shabbir Ali urged all political parties to support the 42% BC reservation, stating, “This is beyond party lines. It is a historical opportunity to correct decades of injustice. I appeal to all BCs to stand with the Congress government. Such a chance will not come again.”
He launched a scathing attack on BRS leaders for targeting the Congress government while failing to act during their own 10-year rule. “BRS sided with the BJP in passing controversial laws like the Triple Talaq Act, Article 370 abrogation, and CAA, but failed to get 12% Muslim and 10% ST reservations approved. What moral right do they have to question the Congress now?”
Claiming seniority over KCR, Shabbir Ali said, “I became a minister seven years before KCR. I served under three Chief Ministers and was also Leader of the Opposition. If KCR and his family have the courage, let them come and debate with me on what they did for BCs, SCs, STs, and minorities.”
He also pointed out that KCR never appointed a single woman as minister in the first term and maintained an elitist attitude towards BCs. “KCR used to directly debate with me in the Legislative Council. He always underestimated BCs. But we in Congress are different – we believe in justice, data, and delivery,” he said.
Responding to a question on minority representation in the cabinet, he said three cabinet berths were vacant and one of them would certainly be given to a Muslim in the upcoming expansion.
He concluded with an assurance that in the Jubilee Hills by-election, regardless of who the Congress party gives the ticket to, “I will campaign wholeheartedly for the party.”
Prominent Congress leaders present at the press conference included Haj Committee Chairman Khusro Pasha Biyabani, TPCC Vice-President Mujahed Alam Khan, TPCC Spokesperson Syed Nizamuddin, and Hyderabad DCC President Mohammed Waliullah Sameer. (eom)