Shabbir Ali slams Union Budget, calls BJP’s minority welfare allocations a ‘cruel joke’

Hyderabad: Senior Congress leader and Advisor to the Telangana Government (SC, ST, BC & Minorities) Mohammed Ali Shabbir expressed strong disapproval of the Union Budget 2025-26, stating that the BJP-led government had once again neglected the welfare of minorities.

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Shabbir Ali pointed out that the total allocation for minority welfare for 2025-26 is Rs 3,350 crore, a marginal increase from the Rs 3,183.24 crore allocated the previous year. He criticised the BJP government for failing to provide substantial funding despite the massive overall budget of Rs 50.47 lakh crore, where the minority welfare share remains just 0.066%. This meagre allocation is nothing but a cruel joke, he said.

He pointed out that the allocation for educational empowerment remains inadequate, with Rs 678.03 crore set aside for various scholarship and fellowship programs. While the Pre-Matric Scholarship saw a reduction from Rs 326.16 crore to Rs 195.70 crore, the Post-Matric Scholarship saw a slight increase from Rs 343.91 crore to Rs 413.99 crore. However, the Merit-cum-Means Scholarship suffered a sharp reduction, falling from Rs 33.80 crore to Rs 7.34 crore. The Maulana Azad National Fellowship was also cut slightly from Rs 45.08 crore to Rs 42.84 crore.

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The Free Coaching and Allied Schemes, which saw a drastic cut in the last budget, remain stagnant at Rs 10 crore. The interest subsidy on educational loans was slashed from Rs 15.30 crore to Rs 8.16 crore.

Shabbir Ali further criticised the Centre for continuing its neglect of skill development and livelihood programs, with the allocation remaining at a meagre Rs 3 crore. Major schemes like Nai Manzil and leadership development programs for minority women continue to receive no funding. He also noted that key employment-oriented initiatives such as USTTAD and Seekho aur Kamao were merged into the PM VIKAS scheme, which has been allocated Rs 517.29 crore this year.

The Congress leader accused the BJP government of deliberately reducing funds for minority empowerment, stating that allocations have steadily declined since 2014. He recalled that during the UPA regime, the Ministry of Minority Affairs had seen an increase in its budget from Rs 144 crore in 2006-07 to Rs 3,531 crore in 2013-14. In contrast, under BJP rule, the allocations have failed to keep up with inflation, and less than 60% of the budgeted amount has been utilised in recent years.

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“The results of the recent Lok Sabha elections showed that the people reject BJP’s divisive politics, yet the government refuses to learn. The BJP is clearly unwilling to change its discriminatory approach, as seen in its consistent underfunding of minority welfare schemes,” Shabbir Ali remarked.

He called on the Centre to revisit its allocations and ensure that scholarships, fellowships, and skill development programs for minorities receive adequate funding to uplift underprivileged communities. (Maxim News)

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