Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Minorities benefited only because of YSR: Babukhan

Hyderabad: Former Minister Bashiruddin Babukhan said on Monday that whatever good that happened to minorities in the State was only because of Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy and not because of organisations like the Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind.

When the ulema claim credit for benefits accruing to Muslims, it meant that the Muslim Minister and MLAs of Congress were mere ‘helpless bystanders’, he said.

In a statement issued here, Mr. Babukhan said if the Jamiat felt because of it the Congress came to power why it couldn’t bargain with the government to concede all the long standing demands of Muslims for advancement of education and employment, he asked.

He wondered why the Jamiat was still pleading with the Congress government for extension of benefits.

“The truth is when the Jamiat takes political posts from the government it will never be taken seriously when it comes to extending social benefits by the government,” Mr. Bashiruddin Babukhan said.

He suggested the ulema to leave the political space and restrict themselves to preaching the true values of Islam instead of interfering in the political affairs.

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