New Delhi: The Ministry of Minority Affairs, established by the UPA government in 2006, is likely to be merged with the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment by Central government
According to a report published in Deccan Herald, sources in the government have revealed that all their schemes of the ministry will be continued post merger
The Union government is of the view that the ministry was merely a part of the UPA government’s appeasement policy and no such separate ministry for minority affairs was needed. The government, therefore, wishes to make the ministry a part of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment again, said a source.
The Ministry, headed by Smriti Irani, also Minister for Women and Child Development, refused to comment on the matter.
Syed Naseer Hussain, Congress Rajya Sabha member, however, called it another attempt by the BJP at polarization in society. “A ministry separate from the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment was set up to bring the minority communities to the mainstream and implement programs for their uplift,” the MP told sources.
Syed Tanveer Ahmed, secretary of Jamaat-e-Hind, said that abolition of the ministry was a move against the spirit of the Constitution of India as it will harm the human development index of the country, sources said. He urged the government to focus on granting more money to and strengthening the ministry for the welfare of the minorities.
