Former Indian cricket captain and senior Congress leader Mohammad Azharuddin was sworn in as a minister in the Telangana cabinet on Friday morning. Governor Jishnu Dev Verma administered the oath of office and secrecy to Azharuddin at the Raj Bhavan. Azhar’s induction fills a long-standing vacancy in Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy’s cabinet and provides the first Muslim representation in the Congress government. With Azharuddin’s induction, the strength of the Telangana cabinet has gone up to 16, leaving room for two more ministers. As per the Assembly strength, the state can have up to 18 ministers. The Opposition has termed Azhar’s cabinet induction as an electoral calculation ahead of the November 11 bypoll in the Jubilee Hills constituency, which has around 30% Muslim voters.
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The BJP hit out at the move, calling it minority appeasement ahead of the bypoll, which was necessitated by the death of BRS MLA Maganti Gopinath in June due to heart attack. It has also objected to the timing of induction and has written to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) alleging a violation of the Model Code of Conduct.
BJP spokespersons said that inducting a minister, especially one who had recently sought a ticket from the same seat, amounts to misuse of official power to influence the voters.
The Congress party has justified the move, saying it is the fulfilment of a commitment to social justice. “The Congress party had made a commitment to ensure cabinet representation for minorities. Governments, even in erstwhile Andhra Pradesh, always included a minority face. We are simply correcting a long-overdue imbalance,” said Telangana Congress chief Mahesh Goud, reported NDTV.
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Azharuddin is not a member of either the legislative assembly or the council—which is necessary to become a state minister. He has been nominated to the legislative council under the governor’s quota, but the governor has not yet signed the proposal. He must be inducted as an MLC within the next six months to retain his ministerial post.
Azharuddin, a right-handed middle order batter and an occasional medium-fast bowler, played 99 Test matches and 334 One Day Internationals for India, and joined the Congress party in 2009.
