Union Budget Minority Welfare Faces Neglect: Shabbir Ali
- Union Budget 2026-27 allocation for minority welfare criticised
- Shabbir Ali flags gap between Centre and State spending
Senior Congress leader Mohammed Ali Shabbir has criticised the Union Budget 2026-27, alleging that it continues to neglect minority welfare despite a sharp rise in overall government spending. Reacting to the budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Shabbir Ali said the BJP-led Union government failed to give minorities due priority even as total expenditure expanded significantly.
Shabbir Ali, who serves as Advisor to the Telangana Government for SC, ST, BC and Minorities, pointed out that the total allocation for the Ministry of Minority Affairs in 2026-27 stood at Rs 3,400 crore. This includes Rs 3,395.62 crore under the revenue section and Rs 4.38 crore under capital expenditure. However, he noted that this marks an increase of only about Rs 50 crore compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, the overall size of the Union Budget has risen sharply.
According to Shabbir Ali, total Union Budget expenditure increased from around Rs 50.65 lakh crore in 2025-26 to an estimated Rs 53.5 lakh crore in 2026-27. This reflects an absolute rise of over Rs 2.85 lakh crore in a single year. “Out of this massive increase, minorities have been given just Rs 50 crore. This clearly shows where the government’s priorities lie,” he said. He also stated that minorities form over 15 per cent of the population but continue to receive a negligible share of national resources.
He further argued that the Centre’s spending on minority welfare is now lower than what some States allocate individually. Shabbir Ali said Congress-ruled Telangana alone earmarked Rs 3,591 crore for its Minorities Welfare Department in 2025-26. He also pointed out that Karnataka made minority-specific provisions exceeding Rs 4,000 crore through various schemes. “These figures expose a disturbing reality. The Union government is spending less on minority welfare for the entire country than individual States like Telangana,” he said.
Shabbir Ali added that when measured as a share of total budgets, States show greater commitment than the Centre. He said Telangana allocated around 1.18 per cent of its budget for minority welfare. In contrast, the Union government’s allocation works out to a fraction of a percentage point. He described this share as statistically insignificant.
The Congress leader also said education continues to suffer under successive Union Budgets. He stated that scholarships, fellowships and educational support schemes for minorities have stagnated or weakened. Skill development and livelihood programmes, he added, also lack meaningful support. Drawing a comparison with the past, Shabbir Ali recalled that in 2013-14, when the Union Budget stood at Rs 16.65 lakh crore, the UPA government allocated Rs 3,531 crore for minority welfare. “Today, with the Union Budget swelling to Rs 53.5 lakh crore, the allocation has actually come down to Rs 3,400 crore. This is not stagnation; it is a clear regression,” he said.
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