Misleading Claims about 2018 Telangana Congress Manifesto Go Viral as Recent - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 5, 2023
A post is being shared on social media claiming that the Congress Party released a new election manifesto announcing several schemes specifically for the welfare of Muslims and Christians in poll-bound Telangana. The post asserts that the recently unveiled manifesto of the Telangana Congress party for the 2023 assembly elections includes various schemes exclusively aimed at the Muslim community. The schemes comprise offering free electricity to mosques, ensuring government contracts for Muslims, pledging financial aid of Rs. 20 lakhs to underprivileged Muslim students, establishing a Muslim IT corridor, facilitating loans for Muslims at a 4% interest rate, and ensuring residential facilities for Muslims. Let’s verify the claims made in the post.
Claim: Congress Party’s new election manifesto for 2023 announces different schemes specifically for the welfare of Muslims in poll-bound Telangana.
Fact: The Telangana Congress Party has not released their manifesto for the upcoming Telangana Assembly Elections 2023. The post refers to an old news report published by ‘Times Now’ regarding the manifesto released by the Congress party in the wake of the 2018 Telangana Assembly elections. In the 2018 election manifesto, Telangana Congress promised to provide free electricity to all religious places of worship including Hindu temples, Churches and Mosques. Telangana Congress announced financial assistance to poor Muslim students as well as for economically backward students from other religious communities in their 2018 Telangana Election manifesto. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
When we searched with relevant keywords, we found that the claims made in the post referred to an old news report published by ‘Times Now’ regarding the manifesto released by the Congress party in the wake of the 2018 Telangana Assembly elections. In the news report, ‘Times Now’ stated that the Congress party has introduced seven schemes specifically for Muslims to attract 90 percent of Muslim votes in Telangana.  The manifesto released by the Telangana Congress Party for the 2018 Telangana Assembly Elections can be seen here. Let’s check the veracity of each claim made in the post, which was referred to in the Times Now news report in 2018.
Claim 1: Free Electricity to Muslims and Churches
The Telangana Congress Party, in their 2018 Telangana Election manifesto, promised that they will provide free power supply to all temples, mosques, churches, and other places of worship. Congress promised that they would release funds for the repairs of temples, mosques, and churches by introducing a proper system if they won the 2018 Telangana Assembly Elections. Congress did not make this promise specifically for Mosques and Churches in Telangana.
Claim 2: Every government contract will be given to Muslim youth in Telangana
The Telangana Congress Party, under the Muslim Minorities Finance Corporation in the 2018 election manifesto, assured Muslim minority youth will be given opportunities to get government contracts as part of providing them employment. However, the Telangana Congress, in the same 2018 Telangana Election manifesto, promised to provide 50% of works in all government contracts for youth, belonging to SC and ST communities, who participated in the Telangana movement. Telangana Congress has nowhere mentioned in its manifesto that all government contracts will be given to Muslim youth.
Claim 3: Financial assistance of 20 lakhs to poor Muslim students
Telangana Congress Party in their 2018 election manifesto stated-“Poor minority students will be given Rs. 20 lakh assistance for overseas education.” However, for poor minority students and eligible economically backward class (EBC) students, Congress announced Rs. 25 Lakhs scholarships for overseas studies.  These scholarships are not specifically provided for Muslim students in Telangana.
Claims 4 & 5 & 6: Establishing Muslim IT Corridor, providing Muslims loans at a 4% interest rate and housing facilities for Muslims
The Telangana Congress Party in their 2018 election manifesto did not specify anything about establishing a Muslim IT corridor in the state. In the 2018 Telangana Election Manifesto, the Congress Party promised that minority community youth, both skilled and unskilled, would be provided loans up to Rs. 5 Lakhs with an 80% subsidy. They also promised that they would provide Rs. 5 Lakh financial assistance for eligible minorities for the construction of their own house.
The Congress Party did not release any latest manifesto for the upcoming 2023 assembly elections in Telangana. Elaborating on the framing of the Congress manifesto for the upcoming Telangana elections, the Congress’s manifesto committee chairman Sridhar Babu said– “The manifesto will reflect the inclusive Telangana and elements of the ‘Social Telangana’. The social justice endeavour will play a key role and the manifesto will be comprehensive. Primarily, the manifesto will reflect Telangana as an ideal state and the common Congress ideology is of ensuring social justice to one and all.”
Addressing a rally in Hyderabad’s Tukkuguda in September 2023, Sonia Gandhi announced six guarantees, including financial assistance for women and gas cylinders at ₹500, Rythu Bharosa, Gruha Jyothi, Indiramma Indlu, Yuva Vikasam and Cheyutha. Congress leaders did not announce any of the schemes mentioned in the post during the rally.
To sum it up, Congress did not unveil any new manifesto announcing specific schemes for Muslims for the upcoming 2023 Telangana Assembly Elections.