Andhra, Telangana best places to be Muslim this Ramzan

Threatened by BJP chief Amit Shah's ambitious plans of political expansion in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, the chief ministers of both states are bending over backwards to woo the Muslim vote bank. And what better occasion than Ramzan to roll out the magic carpet of minority appeasement.

Both AP and Telangana have declared that Ramzan would be celebrated as a state festival.

Earlier, the participation of the state government during Ramzan was limited to organising an Iftar party in Hyderabad where the CMs would meet and hug upper crust Muslims.

This year, however, the two Telugu states have decided to extend government participation to the community level all across the states, much to the embarrassment of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Muslims make up 15% of Telangana's population, and nearly 40% of the state capital Hyderabad comprises of members of this minority community. In Andhra, the corresponding figure is 10%, with large pockets of Muslims in the Rayalaseema region.  

Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) has instructed government officials to organise Iftar parties in all the key towns across the state. And in Hyderabad, where BJP emerged stronger with four MLAs and one MP, more than 100 Iftar parties will be organised to facilitate mass participation by the community. 

The directive is to celebrate Eid 'in a manner hitherto unknown anywhere in India'.

The Telangana government will gift a pair of new clothes to two lakh poor Muslim families, and all students of madrasas, and inmates of Muslim orphanages.

KCR has expressly instructed officials to ensure that celebrations at all Idgahs and mosques are held on a grand scale. All district collectors have been appointed as coordinators for Iftar parties. They have been asked to invite people’s representatives from the grass-roots level, distinguished personalities from all walks of life and religious leaders to these parties. 

The Big Iftar party will be held on June 26 at Hyderabad’s Nizam College grounds where community leaders and dignitaries, diplomats and consuls will be present.

 Across the border in Andhra, Chandrababu Naidu announced a 'Ramzan Tohfa' for some 11 lakh 'poorest of the poor' Muslim families at a cost to the exchequer of about ₹60 crore. The tohfa is a kit containing five kilos of wheat flour, two kilos of sugar, one kilo of vermicelli, and 100 grams ghee. 

While not strictly part of the tohfa, Naidu has said that there will be a Muslim cabinet member soon. The ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) did not have a single Muslim MLA.