Advisor to the Telangana Government Mohammad Ali Shabbir on Saturday criticised the Union Budget and alleged that it had neglected the welfare of minorities.
In a statement released to the media, he said that the allocation for Minorities Welfare was ₹3,350 crore, which was a slight increase from last year’s ₹3,183.24 crore. He pointed out that despite a large overall outlay, the share of minorities in the Budget was a mere 0.066%.
Mr Ali expressed alarm at the slash in allocation towards the pre-matric scholarship — from slightly over ₹326 crore to ₹195.70 crore. He also underscored the substantial reduction in allocation for the merit-cum-means scholarship. Mr Ali, however, acknowledged the ‘slight’ increase in the post-matric Budget.
“The results of the recent Lok Sabha elections showed that the people rejected BJP’s divisive politics, yet the government refuses to learn. The BJP is unwilling to change its discriminatory approach, as seen in its consistent underfunding of minority welfare schemes,” he was quoted as saying.
Published – February 01, 2025 08:14 pm IST