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Asaduddin Owaisi slams govt over budget cut for Ministry of Minority Affairs
Asaduddin Owaisi said there is a 38% budget cut for the Ministry of Minority Affairs from ₹5,000 crores to ₹3,000 crores and asked how India could progress if it discriminates against its 17 crore Muslims
Hyderabad MP and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday criticised the budget cut for the Ministry of Minority Affairs and reduction in scholarships for minorities and accused the central government of neglecting Muslims.
Speaking in the Lok Sabha during a discussion on the Union Budget, Owaisi said there is a 38% budget cut for the Ministry of Minority Affairs from ₹5,000 crores to ₹3,000 crores and asked how India could progress if it discriminates against its 17 crore Muslims.
On Scholarships, he said, “The PM promised 1 crore scholarships in 2019, but only 58% have been delivered.”
Owaisi said that in the 15-24 age group, Muslim admissions are the lowest at 29%, compared to SC at 44%, OBC at 52%, and Upper Castes at 59%.
“In higher education, Muslim enrollment is only 5%,” he said adding that Muslims have the lowest proportion in self-employment and only 26% in casual employment. “Muslim youth are not getting employment or education,” he said.
He also highlighted the underdevelopment in Muslim-majority areas and accused the government of making false promises. He criticised the allocation of ₹97 crores to the Haj committee, alleging corruption and bribery within the committee, and demanded its dissolution and a CBI inquiry.
He also criticised finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman for ignoring child hunger, stating that 66 million children go to bed hungry every night. “It’s the misfortune of these children that a tea seller became the prime minister,” he said.
He criticised the internship scheme’s “unachievable targets” and questioned the criteria for selecting the top 500 companies. “Maybe the PM is telling the Agniveers to do this internship after four years,” he quipped, adding that 21 million people have stopped looking for jobs.
He sarcastically suggested that the finance minister might introduce an unemployment tax and lamented the lack of significant increases in social welfare schemes. He accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of prioritising allies over the middle class and said there is a reduction in real terms for the Ayushman Bharat Yojana.
Raising concerns about national security, he said that the armed forces are unable to patrol 26 out of 65 points in Ladakh and criticised the increase in imports from China to $101 billion in 2024. “The Modi government says ‘Khelo India,’ but their budget says ‘Jhelo India’,” he said.
Owaisi also mentioned that in February 2024, 15,000 MSMEs closed. He criticised the government’s failure to allocate an IIT, IIM, or ITR to Andhra Pradesh despite the state’s bifurcation, calling it a “dishonesty to the people.”
