The Modi-led union government is likely going to scrap the Minority Affairs ministry, which was established by the UPA regime in 2006, and merge it with the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Deccan Herald reported on Monday, citing sources in the government.
The report said that the centre is likely to continue all the schemes that were being implemented by the ministry.
“The BJP-led NDA government is of the view that there is no need for an independent ministry for minority affairs. They believe that the ministry was created as part of UPA’s appeasement policy,” a government source was quoted as saying to the daily.
This has drawn criticism from the opposition with Congress Rajya Sabha member Syed Naseer Hussain describing the move as another attempt by the BJP to polarise society. “The BJP government is using every opportunity against minorities for political gains,” he told DH.
Criticising the Centre’s move, Syed Tanveer Ahmed, secretary of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind said that abolishing the ministry is against the spirit of the Constitution. “It will harm the human development index of the country. Instead, the government should focus on sanctioning more money and strengthening the ministry for the welfare of minorities.”
“The UPA government had forged the Minority Affairs Ministry from the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment to ensure a more focused approach towards issues relating to Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Sikhs, Parsis and Jains”.
Now the Modi government wants to bring the ministry back under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment as the Department of Minority Affairs.
After Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi resigned in July on expiry of his Rajya Sabha term, Smiti Irani, the Women and Child Development Minister, holds the additional charge of the Ministry of Minority Affairs.
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Rabia Shireen is a Staff Reporter at The Cognate.
