Hyderabad: Irrigation and Civil Supplies Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy said on Tuesday that Congress remains India’s only truly secular political party and the only one capable of defeating the BJP both in Telangana and nationally.
Addressing minorities at Yousufguda, he said regional parties like BRS lack credibility and indirectly strengthen the BJP. “They divide votes and weaken the secular front,” he said.
Uttam Kumar Reddy says Congress’s secularism is structural and time-tested
He said the BRS acted as BJP’s silent ally, never objecting to cuts in minority budgets. “It failed to defend minority interests and institutions,” he stated.
Uttam Kumar Reddy detailed Congress’s efforts for minority empowerment, including the ₹4,000 crore Minority Declaration and new educational opportunities—2,200 engineering seats and new law and pharmacy colleges.
He recalled that previous Congress governments sanctioned six medical colleges for minorities and extended reservations to local polls, allowing Muslims greater representation.
He said Congress introduced 4% reservations, led resistance to the Wakf Amendment Act, and pioneered minority budgeting in 1993–94, expanding it from ₹2 crore to ₹1,000 crore by 2013–14. “Congress translates commitment into policy,” he said.
He accused BJP and BRS of reversing progress. “Both have reduced funds and dismantled schemes. Their silence exposes their politics of convenience,” he said.
He urged Jubilee Hills voters to support Congress candidate Naveen Yadav. “Every vote is a vote for secular India,” he said.
