The Telangana government's decision to allow Muslim employees to leave office by 4 pm to offer necessary prayers during the month of Ramzan drew flak from the Bharatiya Janata Party.
In an order, the Revanth Reddy government announced that all Muslim government employees can leave their office by 4 p.m. from March 2 to March 31, except when their presence is required due to exigencies of services during the above period.
The order was issued by Chief Secretary Santhi Kumari.
The BJP has hit out at the move, terming it an attempt to appease the Muslim community in the state.
"The appeasement bug strikes the Congress government in Telangana, which has approved relaxed work hours for Muslim state employees during Ramzan," BJP leader Amit Malviya said in a post on X.
He claimed that no such concessions had been granted to Hindus when they fasted during Navratri.
"This tokenism isn't about being sensitive to the religious beliefs of one community but about reducing them to a mere vote bank. It should be opposed," he further said.
Another BJP leader, P. Muralidhar Rao, too, slammed the state government, accusing it of "blatant appeasement".
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"The Congress government in Telangana is once again indulging in blatant appeasement, approving relaxed work hours for Muslim employees during Ramzan while never extending such concessions to Hindus during Navratri or Jains during Paryushan," he said.
"What kind of secularism is this? Special privileges for one community while others are ignored!," he further claimed and alleged that the state government is determined to prioritise one section while pushing the state down the path of Sharia-style governance.