- Shaik Abdullah Sohail says Congress inducted Azharuddin under BRS pressure
- BRS alleges Congress move was a political eyewash before Jubilee Hills bypoll
Hyderabad, October 30: Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader Shaik Abdullah Sohail claimed that the inclusion of former Indian cricket captain Mohammed Azharuddin in the cabinet of Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy was the result of persistent pressure from the BRS. He said the Congress government acted only after facing criticism for denying cabinet representation to minority communities.
Sohail accused the Congress of ignoring Muslim representation for nearly 22 months since coming to power. He said that only after continuous questioning from the BRS did the Congress high command realise the political damage it faced and hurriedly inducted Azharuddin. “Only after sustained criticism by the BRS did the Congress high command realise the damage it was facing and hurriedly announce Azharuddin’s induction,” he stated.
The BRS leader recalled that Chief Minister Revanth Reddy earlier justified the absence of Muslim ministers by saying that no Muslim MLA was elected on a Congress ticket in the 2023 Assembly elections. Sohail argued that this excuse was invalid since Congress could have accommodated Muslim leaders through the Legislative Council.
“Even when Amer Ali Khan was nominated as MLC under the Governor’s quota, he was kept out of the cabinet for 13 months. Later, when the Supreme Court cancelled his nomination along with that of Telangana Jana Samithi president Prof Kodandaram, the Chief Minister dropped him without dignity and replaced him with Azharuddin,” Sohail said.
He further stated that Azharuddin’s cabinet position could be temporary because his appointment as MLC was still subject to a Supreme Court case. “Revanth Reddy himself is unsure whether Azharuddin will complete his term,” he remarked.
According to Sohail, the Congress’s decision was not a genuine act of inclusion but a “desperate political move” aimed at misleading minority voters ahead of the Jubilee Hills by-election. He said the BRS’s campaign had exposed the Congress’s neglect of Muslims and forced it to act under pressure. “Congress leaders could not even enter Muslim localities without facing questions about their neglect,” he said.
The BRS leader called on voters to reject the Congress in the upcoming by-election, arguing that only a defeat would make the ruling party take its promises seriously.
“Only if Congress faces defeat will it take its promises seriously. Otherwise, it will continue to deceive minorities with symbolic gestures,” he said.
He also reminded that the Congress had promised a Rs 4,000 crore annual minority welfare budget, a minority sub-plan ensuring full utilisation, and Rs 1,000 crore in subsidised loans for minority youth. “None of these promises have been fulfilled so far. The BRS will continue to fight until the Congress government stops ignoring the Muslim community and honours its commitments,” Sohail added.
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