Union Minister of Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju addresses the 7th North East Students’ Festival, in New Delhi, Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday alleged that the Ministry of Minority Affairs was seen as the "ministry of Muslim affairs" during the Congress rule as it treated Muslims as a "vote bank".
The Union minority affairs minister asserted that minorities in India are safe, sound, secure and have better opportunities than what is seen in other countries.
"What used to happen earlier that this is the Ministry of Minority Affairs but people used to think that this is the 'ministry of Muslim affairs'. We work for six communities, otherwise during the Congress rule they used to treat Muslims as a vote bank and would keep saying 'Muslims, Muslims'," Rijiju said at a press conference here.
The press conference was organised to highlight his ministry's work in the first 100 days of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's third term.
"We have worked so much for six communities -- Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Parsis -- the Ministry of Minority Affairs works for all. But during the Congress rule, the Ministry of Minority Affairs would mean 'Muslim affairs', they made it seem that way, which was wrong," Rijiju said.
Even Muslims had been harmed because of the image of the ministry that was formed during the Congress rule, he said.
"Now we have run targeted programmes community-wise so that everyone knows that we are working for Parsis, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains, Christians and Muslims. We are working for all," Rijiju said.
In the past, during the Congress rule, they had created an impression that the Ministry of Minority Affairs was only for the Muslims, Rijiju said.
"Only Muslims can become the National Commission for Minorities chairperson. They created the impression that minority affairs ministry is only for Muslims that has hampered the objective of the ministry, because Muslims remained poor, because Muslims were treated as a vote bank," he said.
"What we have done is that all minorities will be treated equally. We changed the perception and the people know that there are six minority communities in India and all the schemes are benefiting all the six minority communities, and we are making efforts to reach out to those who are left out," he said.
Rijiju listed the ministry's programmes and achievements in the last 100 days.
He talked about the ‘Lok Samvardhan Parv’ which was organised as part of the 100 days' programme by the National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation (NMDFC).
A credit plan of the NMDFC for extending credit of over Rs 1000 crore to more than 2.5 lakhs beneficiaries during 2024-25 was also released during the last 100 days.
Rijiju also highlighted 'Pradhan Mantri Virasat Ka Samvardhan' (PM VIKAS), an integrated scheme of the Ministry of Minority Affairs converging its five erstwhile schemes.
Rijiju also talked about the launch of the Haj Suvidha app, which he said was a "game-changer" in Haj Management during Haj-2024.
"It provides the pilgrims access to training content, accommodation and flight details, baggage information, an emergency helpline (SOS), grievance redressal, feedback, language translation, and miscellaneous information and services related to the pilgrimage and also facilitates better coordination and control of the pilgrims by the Indian administration in Saudi Arabia," he said.
Rijiju also highlighted preparation of operational manual for conducting of Urs for Durgah Khawaja Saheb, Ajmer.
He talked about the launch of the Jiyo Parsi portal and said the ministry is adopting a circuit-based approach for the growth of minorities within minorities, especially Parsis, Buddhists, Jains, and Sikhs.
These 100 days have also been focussed towards strengthening of the existing ecosystem through digitised scheme processes and evaluation mechanisms, he said.
The Ministry of Minority Affairs has successfully integrated the BHASHINI initiative into its official website minorityaffairs.gov.in, Rijiju said.
This implementation underscores the government's commitment to fostering inclusivity and enabling equal access to resources for all communities, he said.