Activists of the Telugu Desam Party minorities wing staged a demonstration in front of Prakasam Bhavan here on Monday in protest against the YSR Congress Party government's decision to scrap the Dulhan scheme.
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Leading the protest, TDP Ongole Lok Sabha unit minority wing president Sk. Razool Mohammad said the previous TDP government had provided ₹50,000 each to poor Muslim youth for their marriage. It was unfortunate that Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, who had promised to enhance the financial assistance to ₹1 lakh in the run up to the 2019 Assembly elections, had now wound up the scheme citing paucity of funds, he said.
The scheme should be revived immediately to provide succour to the daughters of poor Muslim families, demanded TDP minorities State unit vice-president Kafil Basha and official spokespersons Sk. Sandhani Basha and Sk. Hajimunnissa, before submitting a memorandum to Prakasam district Collector A.S. Dinesh Kumar.
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Plea in Spandana
In Tirupati, TDP leaders staged a demonstration at the Collectorate demanding that the scheme be re-introduced. The party leaders led by Tirupati parliamentary constituency in-charge G. Narasimha Yadav and assembly constituency convener M. Sugunamma submitted a representation to this effect to the Collector K. Venkataramana Reddy during the weekly ‘Spandana’ programme.
Speaking to the media later, Mr. Yadav vowed to get the Wakf board lands released from the clutches of the YSR Congress Party leaders, who he said had ‘encroached’ upon them.
“By diluting Ramzan Tohfa, loans through minority corporation and support to overseas education, the government has exposed its anti-Muslim stand,” said the party’s minority cell leader Shaik Jaleel Ahmed.
Responding to the ‘shortage of funds’ for the scheme, as submitted by the State government in the High Court, he wondered how could the State have funds to paint the village and ward secretariat buildings with colours representing the YSRCP.