The Telangana government has promised a job for the widow of Sayeed Saifuddin one of the victims of the Jaipur Express shooting and also a two-bed room besides funding the educational expenses of his children. Speaking in the assembly on Friday, August 4, K T Rama Rao, a senior minister in charge of several portfolios, including Municipal Administration and Urban Development, said, “We will provide a job at Hyderabad Municipal Development Authority (HMDA), Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) or Quli Qutub Shah Urban Development Authority (QQUSDA) to Saifuddin’s wife and a two bedroom flat under a housing scheme. In addition a fixed deposit of Rs 2 lakheach will be opened in the name of his daughters.”
Interestingly, though the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) is speculated to be softening towards the BJP, KTR came out strongly against politics of hatred. He said, “We know what caused the Jaipur killings or triggered Manipur violence as also the recent incidents in Haryana. Telangana will reject the politics that incites violence in order to reap political benefits,” he declared and added, “It is not good for India or the next generation. We will make sure that there continues to be peace, brotherhood, and social harmony in our state.”
Syed Saifuddin, the Jaipur victim, had gone to the Ajmer Sharif Dargah, and was on his way home via Mumbai when he was shot down by an RPF constable. A resident of Hyderabad’s Bazar Ghat area in Nampally, Saifuddin reportedly had a cellphone repair shop and was his family’s only earning member. He is survived by his wife and three daughters, aged 6 years, 2 years, and 6 months.
Earlier AIMIM (All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen) leader Akbaruddin Owaisi condemned the Jaipur express shooting incident as an example of radicalisation in the name of religion and requested the state government to provide financial assistance to the kin of Syed Saifuddin.
Akbaruddin, representing Chandrayangutta in the assembly, noted the three victims in Jaipur Express shooting were killed only because their appearance indicated they were Muslims.
He went on to charge, “Hatred between Hindu and muslim is being fostered. The communities are being radicalized so much that they become enemies of each other. Muslims are being killed in the name of love jihad and ghar wapsi. Power is sought on the basis of hatred. Telangana has been successful in preventing such forces. We will continue to defeat these forces and prove Muslims and Hindus can coexist in harmony in Telangana.”
He added, “The country needs development, an end to unemployment but the focus is on hatred.”
Syed Saifuddin, Asgar Abbas Ali, and Abdul Khadar were among the four people killed when Chetan Singh, with the Railway Protection Force (RPF), allegedly targeted Muslims on the Mumbai-bound Jaipur Express on July 31. Prior to killing the civilians, Chetan Singh had shot his superior Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) Tika Ram Meena.
In a video that surfaced later, Chetan Singh is heard declaring that if one wanted to live in India they would have to support Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and former Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray.