Hyderabad: Siddipet MLA T Harish Rao expressed doubts over the intentions of the Congress government for making Mohammad Azharuddin the Minorities Welfare Minister, and hoped the blessings of Allah be upon him so that he could be made a member of the Legislative Council before April 30, the deadline for him to continue as a minister without being a member of the legislature.
Speaking in the Assembly on the demands for grants in the budget for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), minorities and other sections on Wednesday, March 25, Harish Rao also expressed : on whether the Congress government would make him resign before the deadline.
“You were a great cricket player, but I doubt that they may ruin your reputation,” Harish Rao said, informing the miniyster that though the Congress government had allocated Rs 2,800 crore in the 2025-26 budget, not even half of it was spent.
urHe also said that out of Rs 120 crore allocated for the minorities development fund for scholarships, only Rs 1 crore was sptent. He also pointed out that out of Rs 1,350 crore allocated for the Minorities’ Corporation, only Rs 6 crore has been released, that too for salaries.
The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader said that out of Rs 216 crore allocated for the Christians Corporation, only Rs 50 crore was released, that too for the official Christmas celebration attended by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and for gifts during the festivities.
Harish Rao alleged that not a single penny was released for the minorities study circles, and no salaries were paid to the employees of the Urdu Academy for nine months. He questioned whether the state government was committed to giving Rs 12,000 per month honorarium for imams and muezzins.
Too soon to hit century: Azharuddin
Replying to Harish Rao, Azharuddin said that he just became a minister five months ago, and that he couldn’t hit a century in politics immediately, though he could hit a century in cricket.
“Harish Rao posed the questions and also gave answers,” Azharuddin said, drawing laughter from the benches.
While placing the demand for grants on minorities’ welfare, Azharuddin assured that he would take action to release funds meant for minorities’ welfare.
He also said that salaries of imams and muezzins were being paid on time, and that four months’ salaries of Urdu Academy employees were cleared.
Harish Rao praised Azharuddin for delivering his first speech in the Assembly well.
50,000 acres of assigned lands, land aquisition around Hyderabad
Also alleging that 50,000 acre of assigned lands belonging to SCs and STs were being acquired by the state government for massive infrastructure projects around Hyderabad, Harish Rao sought to know whether they will be compensated on par with the market value of the land or be paid less.
He also sought to know whether the Congress government was still committed to its manifesto promise of issuing patta passbooks for assigned lands of SCs and STs.
Talking about agriculture, he urged the Agriculture Minister Thummala Nageswara Rao to reveal how many farmers with loans up to Rs 2 lakh have received a loan waiver, and how many farmers with loans above Rs 2 lakh had it waived off.
Also claiming that Rs 1,150 crore bonus for fine-grain paddy produced in Rabi last year was still outstanding, Harish Rao wondered whether the state government was going to give the bonus for Rabi 2025-26.
Drawing the attention of the Agriculture Minister about the High Court’s ruling against the state government’s decision to repeal the Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies (PACS) in the state, Harish Rao sought to know whether the state government was going to conduct elections to PACS.
Nageswara Rao replied, saying that as per court orders, elections will be held for all PACS.
He clarified to Harish Rao that loan waivers of farm loans under Rs 2 lakh were waived off as per the list given by the banks, by spending over Rs 20,000 crore.
He also assured that though the Centre has imposed a limit on the procurement of Rabi crops like paddy, maize, jowar and some other crops, the state government was ready to procure over and above that limit.
BRS walks out, again
Harish Rao expressed dissatisfaction over the Agriculture Minister not replying to his question on how many loans of farmers above Rs 2 lakh were waived.
“The Chief Minister declared that all farm loans above Rs 2 lakh will be waived off if farmers clear the loan amount in excess of Rs 2 lakh first. Believing him, the farmers deposited that excess in their loan accounts, but their loans were not waived off,” Harish Rao alleged, before staging a walk-out just before the demands were granted towards the end of the day’s session.
Bills passed
The Telangana Goods and Services Tax (Secondary Amendment) Bill, 2026, and the Telangana Vaidya Vidhana Parishad (Repeal) Bill, 2026, were passed earlier during the day in the Assembly.
Demands for grants for the financial year 2026-27 for the commercial taxes administration, agriculture and cooperation, social welfare, tribal welfare, animal husbandry and fisheries, sports and youth services and minority welfare were moved for approval during the day’s session.
Tribals receive compensation for relocating from Amrabad Tiger Reserve
While the Assembly session was in progress, 14 Chenchu families living in the core forest area of the Amrabad Tiger Reserve received cheques worth Rs 15 lakh each for agreeing to relocate their houses out of the forest.
As part of the first phase of relocation, the state government has been trying to relocate 417 families of tribals living in Sarlapalli, Kudichinthalabailu, Thatigundala Penta and Kollampenta located in Amrabad Tiger Reserve, to other locations in Nagarkurnool district.
