Shabbir Ali asks Telugu Diaspora to invest in home States

Hyderabad, Aug 11 (INN): Leader of Opposition in Telangana Legislative Council Mohammed Ali Shabbir has appealed to nearly two million Telugu Diaspora to invest their savings in their home states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

Shabbir Ali made this appeal while addressing a reception dinner organised in his honour by the American Telugu Association (ATA) and Telangana Association of North America at North Shore Banquets, Chicago, Illinois. The reception was attended by over 300 Telanganities.

He asked the Telugu NRIs to establish industrial units by making full use of their exposure to high-end technology. 'Considering the heavy incidence of poverty, illiteracy, and ill-health in the rural areas of the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana States, the NRI's with flair for social service, may consider using their resources and expertise in finding enduring solutions to these problems', he advised.

Shabbir Ali in his address, said that the extension of the benefit of 4% reservations, during his regime as the cabinet minister, enabled the Minority students to register a respectable share in the domains of education and employment and added that the number of Minority students who secured admission in different branches of Engineering was about 1,00,000 and in medicine, 7,000, as a result of the reservation. He said that the release of scholarships, running into hundreds of crores of rupees, enabled the students belonging to weaker sections among minorities, enabled them to pursue their education without any financial worries. He stated that the Congress Government was also generous in according permissions for the establishment of professional colleges, including seven Minority-managed Medical colleges in Andhra Pradesh. He praised the leadership of Sonia Gandhi for carving out Telangana consulting with all parties In the state.

He said that the Congress Party carved out the Telangana State taking into consideration the consensus among all the political parties. He said that the Congress was equally committed to the overall development of both the States - Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. "The people of these States should join hands in protecting the language, literature, heritage, and culture, which continue to be common for both of them. I am extremely happy to note that in the USA, the Telugus march hand in hand, irrespective of the Telugu State to which they belong. This spirit should be further strengthened not only in the USA but also in the States of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh', he added.

Shabbir Ali alleged that the Telangana Government, led by K. Chandrasekhar Rao, was lagging behind in addressing the concerns of the minorities in the fields of education, employment, scholarships, etc.

He thanked the Telugu speaking people who attended the reception. ATA leaders Hanumanth Reddy, Syed Mukkaram and Iftekhar Sharief, the first recipient of the Dual Citizenship(OCI), also addressed the meeting. ATA membership committee chairman Srinivas Reddy praised the services of Mohammed Shabbir Ali and wished him good luck.

A Tri-color "Khandwa" significance of good lucks was presented to Shabbir Ali by Hanumanth Reddy and Arshad Ali Khan. Later, the Telugu Christian community presented a shawl and bouquet by Vijay Doma, Vijay Ranjan and others.