Azharuddin takes charge as minister in Telangana

Hyderabad | Former cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin, who was recently inducted into the Telangana council of ministers, on Monday assumed charge as the Minister of Minorities Welfare and Public Enterprises at the Secretariat here.

Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, several ministers and other Congress leaders congratulated him.

Speaking to reporters, Azharuddin thanked Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and the ministers for give him a berth in the Cabinet.

He also thanked the voters of Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh for electing him as a Lok Sabha member in 2009.

"People gave me so much love. I cannot forget Moradabad where I was elected as an MP for the first time. I had fought election in Tonk-Sawai Madhopur (in Rajasthan, 2014) also. The result was negative, but people campaigned and supported me a lot. I thank them also," he told reporters.

Azharuddin was sworn in as a minister in Revanth Reddy's Cabinet on October 31.

He was on November 4 allocated Minorities Welfare and Public Enterprises portfolios.

Azharuddin was nominated as a Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) under the Governor's quota by the Telangana government in August last week. However, Governor Jishnu Dev Varma is yet to clear the appointment.