Hyderabad: After the Nizam who had appointed Maharaja Kishen Pershad as Prime Minister, it is Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao who has followed secular principles and appointed a Muslim, Md. Mahmood Ali, as Deputy Chief Minister of Telangana.
Mr Ali, is also the first Muslim Deputy Chief Minister in the country after Independence.
“The Nizams had the culture of appointing Hindus and Muslims in top positions. Mr Rao has resumed that culture,” Mr Ali said, after assuming charge in the Secretariat here on Sunday.
“Gandhi was a Mahatma. Mr Rao too is a mahatma. He always appealed to the people to take forward the struggle for Telangana statehood in a non-violent manner. He himself took up a fast-unto-death. He always maintains that people of Telangana and Seemandhra are brethren and should live in peace and harmony,” Mr Ali said.
To underline this, Mr Ali has installed two portraits, one of Mahatma Gandhi and another of Mr Chandrasekhar Rao, on the walls of his office.
The Deputy Chief Minister said development of Hyderabad was on top of the agenda.
“The focus will be on comprehensive development and beautification of Hyderabad. The TRS government under the leadership of KCR will end the discrimination between the old city and new city. The entire Greater Hyderabad area would be developed by treating it as a single city,” he said.
Stating that Mr Rao has already instructed officials to prepare a master plan for the next 30 to 40 years for civic and other infrastructure facilities for a population of two crore people, he said the TRS government would develop Hyderabad on all fronts, like the Nizams did.
Regarding the 12 per cent reservation for minorities, Mr Ali said, it would take some time for it to be implemented. “The implementation of reservations for minorities in other states would be reviewed before offering it here,” he said.
Earlier, Mr Ali visited Dargah Hazrat Yousufain at Nampally to pay his respects and offered thanksgiving prayers in his chambers before assuming charge in the presence of his counterpart Dr T. Rajaiah, ministers T. Harish Rao, Pocharam Srinivas Reddy, K. Taraka Rama Rao and others
