The Jamiat Ulama Telangana and Andhra Pradesh (Maulana Mahmood Madani group), a body comprising Muslim clerics, ahead of the Telangana Assembly elections, announced their support to a party which they described as not having “aligned itself with any communal organisation for the last 70 years,” an oblique reference to the Congress.
The Jamiat has been touring the districts of the State, pointing out that the Muslims cannot be ignored. At their public meetings, clerics affiliated to the organisation, including its general secretary Khaleeq Ahmed Saber, have sought to inform the public that the real issues of Muslims are not merely painting masjids and constructing walls around graveyards, but those connected to healthcare and education.
The statement, which the organisation released to the media, claimed that the Congress had accepted some of its suggestions and included them in the manifesto. Welcoming the move, the Jamiat stated that these suggestions included steps to protect and strengthen the 4% reservations for Muslims in education and employment, protection of Waqf properties, among others.
Criticising the ruling dispensation, the organisation claimed that the present government had failed to protect Waqf properties. It also invoked the encounter in Alair in 2015, in which five undertrial prisoners were killed. It raised concerns over the functioning of the Telangana Minorities Residential Educational Institutions Society.
The Jamiat also touched upon the Lok Sabha elections in 2024 and resolved to support a party that stayed true to its secular credentials.
In the recent past, Maulana Mahmood Madani toured Telangana, addressed a public meeting and also had discussions with a group of activists and intellectuals in Hyderabad. The move was to understand the ground realities of the State and its issues better.
