Congress Will Win Jubilee Hills by Huge Margin, Says Shabbir Ali... Only Congress can ensure minorities’ empowerment, asserts senior leader Shabbir Ali

Hyderabad (Same Day): Senior Congress leader and Advisor to the Telangana Government Mohammed Ali Shabbir on Sunday expressed confidence that the Congress would win the Jubilee Hills by-election with a resounding majority. Addressing a meeting of religious scholars, community leaders, and Congress workers from the Jubilee Hills constituency at his residence, Mr. Shabbir Ali said that only the Congress party had the moral, political, and historical credibility to ensure the empowerment of minorities. He urged all communities, particularly minority voters, to unite and vote decisively for Congress candidate Naveen Yadav to deliver a strong and progressive mandate.

Accusing the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) of resorting to false propaganda and divisive politics, Mr. Shabbir Ali alleged that the party’s decade-long rule had systematically dismantled minority educational institutions and weakened welfare programmes established under previous Congress governments. “Nearly 80 per cent of minority institutions, including 46 engineering colleges, were shut down during BRS rule. The government failed to safeguard Waqf properties and betrayed the very communities it claimed to represent,” he said.

Recalling the Congress’s contributions, Mr. Shabbir Ali noted that the party created India’s first Minorities Welfare Department in 1993, when he served as the country’s first Minorities Welfare Minister. The budget for minority welfare, he said, had increased from ₹2 crore in 1993-94 to ₹1,027 crore in 2013-14 under Congress rule. The implementation of 4% Muslim reservations under the BC-E category, he added, had transformed the lives of over 20 lakh poor Muslims through greater access to education, employment, and representation.

Highlighting the party’s welfare measures, he said the Congress had sanctioned six medical colleges and over 100 professional institutions for minorities, amended the Central Waqf Act in 2013, and established the National Waqf Development Corporation with an initial fund of ₹500 crore to protect community assets.

Mr. Shabbir Ali lauded Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy’s government for reviving Telangana’s inclusive spirit and continuing the Congress’s legacy of empowerment. He said that the budget for minority welfare had been enhanced and representation ensured in key government institutions. He also noted that 2,200 new engineering seats had been added in minority colleges, along with the sanctioning of one Minority Law College and two Pharmacy Colleges. In the recent DSC recruitment, 720 of the 10,006 selected candidates were from minority communities, he added.

Acknowledging the shortage of burial space in the Jubilee Hills constituency, Mr. Shabbir Ali said he would meet the Chief Minister to find a permanent and practical solution to the issue.

Praising Congress candidate Naveen Yadav as a “young, dynamic, and secular leader,” Mr. Shabbir Ali said his victory would represent not just the Congress but all those who believe in equality and justice.

Mr. Yadav, in his address, thanked the party leadership and pledged to work for the comprehensive development of Jubilee Hills. “My focus will be on infrastructure, education, employment, and welfare of every section of society,” he said.

Concluding the meeting, Mr. Shabbir Ali said the by-election is more than a political contest—it is a test of Telangana’s inclusive character. “The Congress, with its legacy of justice and progress, alone can guarantee a secure, equitable, and harmonious future for all,” he said.