The Central Government has refuted media reports that said it may scrap the Ministry of Minority Affairs that was established by the UPA government in 2006. The Centre said there is no proposal under consideration to scrap the Ministry of Minority Affairs.
A media report published in @DeccanHerald is claiming that the Central government is likely to scrap the Ministry of Minority Affairs and will merge it with @MSJEGOI#PIBFactCheck
— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) October 3, 2022
▶️ This Claim is #FAKE
▶️ No such Proposal is under consideration pic.twitter.com/RcTtyzyw59
The Minority Affairs Ministry, currently headed by Union Minister Smriti Irani, was carved out of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
As per a report published in Deccan Herald, a department under the ministry will be formed again, similar to what it was prior to the formation of the Minority Affairs Ministry in 2006. Before Irani, the ministry was under former Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, who resigned from the post following the expiry of his Rajya Sabha term.
Notably, there will be no changes in the implementation of the schemes by the Minority Affairs Ministry, the report suggested. Deccan Herald quoted an unnamed source saying, “The BJP-led NDA government is of the view that there is no need for an independent ministry for minority affairs. It believes the ministry was created as part of UPA’s appeasement policy. Now, the Modi government wants to bring it back under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment as the ‘Department of Minority Affairs’.”
Congress leaders opposed the proposed move
Congress Rajya Sabha member Syed Naseer Hussain while calling it another attempt to polarise society, said, “The purpose of setting up a separate ministry was to bring minorities to the mainstream with focused programmes for their uplift. However, the BJP government is using every opportunity against minorities for political gains.”
Syed Tanveer Ahmed, secretary, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, also expressed his dismay. He said, “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.”
No official word from the government
So far, there has been no official word from the Central Government over the matter. OpIndia tried to reach out to officials and will update the report accordingly.
