Former MLA and senior BJP leader Marri Shashidhar Reddy has urged Election Commission to take cognisance of the BRS Government decision to grant ₹1 lakh to Muslim minorities to prevent “undue and unjust” electoral advantage on Monday.
“It is simply an attempt to woo the Muslim minorities of Telangana and is highly condemnable. This has been done in view of the election this year. It is nothing more than electoral bribing and something the EC should take note,” he told a press conference at the party office.
Mr. Reddy questioned the very concept of ‘BC Bandhu’ and termed it “grossly unfair, selective and an election gimmick” with no transparency about its implementation with no dates specified for various steps to be taken till disbursal. “What is the track record of the BRS Government? Has it done anything beyond spending money on Ramzan gifts and food, which itself has gone unaudited,” he asked
“State Minorities Finance Corporation has been dead for about four years. It has 2.5 lakh applications for assistance but their fate is unknown. No one wants to talk about them, not even Majlis party, the so-called champions of Muslims,” he charged.
The SMFC was constituted and applications were called up to March 21. About 1.20 lakh new applications were received and the beneficiaries were to be selected by lottery. The latest order states applications of last year (2022-23) will be considered! There was an allocation of ₹50 crore and an additional amount of ₹70 crore was also earmarked.
Was all this amount spent on Ramzan goodies? Nobody was able to say where the whole amount had gone, claimed Mr. Reddy. The BJP leader also wondered why Jains, Sikhs and Buddhists were not being considered for the scheme. “This is yet another fraud being committed for electoral gains,” he said.
