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Congress fails to spend minority education funds, exposes budget claims: Abdullah Sohail
Hyderabad, April 7: BRS senior leader Shaik Abdullah Sohail on Tuesday intensified his attack on the Congress government led by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, accusing it of deliberately neglecting minority students by failing to spend funds allocated for education and welfare schemes.
He said the Congress came to power promising a Rs. 4,000 crore minorities welfare budget and a dedicated Minority Sub-Plan to ensure 100% utilisation. “Today, both promises have collapsed. The government is announcing big numbers, but the reality on the ground is that funds are not being spent, especially on education,” he said.
Citing official figures for 2025-26, Sohail said the most alarming trend was in education-related schemes. “Under the Maintenance of Charges/Fees (MTF) scheme, Rs. 120 crore was allocated and fully released, but only Rs. 1.20 crore has been spent. In Reimbursement of Tuition Fee (RTF), against Rs. 300 crore allocation, only Rs. 68.88 crore has been utilised. The Pre-Matric scholarship scheme has seen zero expenditure despite allocation,” he pointed out.
He further said that schemes meant to support academic advancement were virtually non-functional. “For coaching through study circles, Rs. 4 crore was allocated, but only Rs. 0.03 crore has been spent. Training and Employment saw an allocation of Rs. 30 crore, but expenditure is just Rs. 5.02 crore. Urdu Academy and related educational institutions received Rs. 12 crore, but only Rs. 2.04 crore has been utilised, while another segment shows zero spending,” he said.
Sohail said that while education schemes were starved of funds, even major welfare programmes reflected poor execution. “Shaadi Mubarak, with an allocation of Rs. 650 crore, has seen expenditure of only Rs. 284.79 crore. The Rajiv Yuva Vikasam scheme, which is crucial for minority youth, has an allocation of Rs. 840 crore, but not a single rupee has been spent so far. Similarly, under TSMFC welfare schemes, against Rs. 150 crore allocation, expenditure is a shocking Rs. 0.83 crore,” he said.
He said these figures clearly expose the government’s priorities. “On one hand, funds for students and youth remain unspent, while on the other, non-essential expenditure continues. This reflects a complete disconnect between announcements and actual governance,” he alleged.
Drawing a comparison with the previous BRS government, Sohail said, “Under BRS, utilisation of funds consistently improved, reaching 94.50% in 2019-20 and 96.96% in 2022-23. Today, under Congress, utilisation has fallen to 53.48% in 2024-25 and further to 49.65% in 2025-26. This is a clear case of declining commitment to minorities welfare.”
He added that even in 2023-24, the slowdown began immediately after the change in government. “Out of the total expenditure of Rs. 1,755.29 crore, Rs. 1,155.75 crore was spent before December 6 under the previous government, while only Rs. 599.54 crore was spent after the Congress took over,” he said.
Sohail demanded immediate corrective measures and accountability. “Minority students are being denied scholarships, fee reimbursement and training opportunities due to the government’s failure to spend funds. Announcing Rs. 4,000 crore means nothing if half of it remains on paper. The Congress government must answer why it is failing to deliver on its own promises,” he said. (Ends)
He said the Congress came to power promising a Rs. 4,000 crore minorities welfare budget and a dedicated Minority Sub-Plan to ensure 100% utilisation. “Today, both promises have collapsed. The government is announcing big numbers, but the reality on the ground is that funds are not being spent, especially on education,” he said.
Citing official figures for 2025-26, Sohail said the most alarming trend was in education-related schemes. “Under the Maintenance of Charges/Fees (MTF) scheme, Rs. 120 crore was allocated and fully released, but only Rs. 1.20 crore has been spent. In Reimbursement of Tuition Fee (RTF), against Rs. 300 crore allocation, only Rs. 68.88 crore has been utilised. The Pre-Matric scholarship scheme has seen zero expenditure despite allocation,” he pointed out.
He further said that schemes meant to support academic advancement were virtually non-functional. “For coaching through study circles, Rs. 4 crore was allocated, but only Rs. 0.03 crore has been spent. Training and Employment saw an allocation of Rs. 30 crore, but expenditure is just Rs. 5.02 crore. Urdu Academy and related educational institutions received Rs. 12 crore, but only Rs. 2.04 crore has been utilised, while another segment shows zero spending,” he said.
Sohail said that while education schemes were starved of funds, even major welfare programmes reflected poor execution. “Shaadi Mubarak, with an allocation of Rs. 650 crore, has seen expenditure of only Rs. 284.79 crore. The Rajiv Yuva Vikasam scheme, which is crucial for minority youth, has an allocation of Rs. 840 crore, but not a single rupee has been spent so far. Similarly, under TSMFC welfare schemes, against Rs. 150 crore allocation, expenditure is a shocking Rs. 0.83 crore,” he said.
He said these figures clearly expose the government’s priorities. “On one hand, funds for students and youth remain unspent, while on the other, non-essential expenditure continues. This reflects a complete disconnect between announcements and actual governance,” he alleged.
Drawing a comparison with the previous BRS government, Sohail said, “Under BRS, utilisation of funds consistently improved, reaching 94.50% in 2019-20 and 96.96% in 2022-23. Today, under Congress, utilisation has fallen to 53.48% in 2024-25 and further to 49.65% in 2025-26. This is a clear case of declining commitment to minorities welfare.”
He added that even in 2023-24, the slowdown began immediately after the change in government. “Out of the total expenditure of Rs. 1,755.29 crore, Rs. 1,155.75 crore was spent before December 6 under the previous government, while only Rs. 599.54 crore was spent after the Congress took over,” he said.
Sohail demanded immediate corrective measures and accountability. “Minority students are being denied scholarships, fee reimbursement and training opportunities due to the government’s failure to spend funds. Announcing Rs. 4,000 crore means nothing if half of it remains on paper. The Congress government must answer why it is failing to deliver on its own promises,” he said. (Ends)
