AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has urged the TRS-led Telangana government to announce a scheme on the lines of Dalit Bandhu for economic empowerment of extremely poor Muslims in the state.
He made the demand while addressing a symposium on “Muslims in Telangana: Poverty and other challenges”.
“If extremely poor Muslim households are given the same amount, it would go a long way in improving their lives,” said the President of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM).
“We welcome the scheme and demand that Telangana take similar affirmative action for Muslims – not on the basis of religion but on strength of their deprivation and marginalisation,” he said
“It is safe to assume that at least 1-2 per cent of these households live in abject poverty and need urgent measures to protect them. Ideally, at least 18,000 households should be considered for this scheme. This would amount to only Rs 1,800 crore as a one-time expense for the state but its benefits would far outlast the expense as a whole generation could be saved from abject poverty,” he said.
Owaisi said if this amount is considered too much, at least one per cent or 9,000 households should be covered, which would amount to only Rs 900 crore.
Muslims constitute 12/8 percent of Telangana population; nearly 4.8 million. According to the findings of the Sudhir Commission, about 48 per cent of Muslim households in the State live on an income of less than Rs 10,000 a month.