New Delhi: Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, a prominent Muslim face of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, on Wednesday resigned as the Union Minority Affairs Minister, prompting speculation that he would soon be fielded as the saffron party’s vice-president. can go. Naqvi resigned a day before the term of the Rajya Sabha ended. On the advice of the Prime Minister, President Ram Nath Kovind accepted his resignation with immediate effect and directed that Union Minister Smriti Irani be given the charge of the Ministry of Minority Affairs in addition to her existing portfolio.
Later in a meeting, PM Narendra Modi lauded Naqvi for his contribution to the country and its people as a Union minister. Along with Naqvi, the PM also praised Naqvi’s Rajya Sabha colleague, Ram Chandra Prasad Singh, who resigned a day before the completion of his Rajya Sabha term.
Speculations that Naqvi might be projected as the party’s vice-president had started after he was denied a Rajya Sabha ticket. Then a section of the media had reported that he may soon be appointed as the new Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir as the BJP reaches out to Muslims.
Also, after his resignation, the ruling BJP does not have a major Muslim face in the Union Council of Ministers and among the party’s 395 Members of Parliament. It is also a rare occasion for the ruling party that there will be no representation of the Muslim community in the Union Council of Ministers.
The opposition has been accusing the BJP of not giving enough representation to Muslims, but the saffron party has maintained that its MPs work for all communities and are not representatives of any religion.
For decades, Muslim BJP MPs have had a nominal presence in Parliament. Naqvi himself has been a Rajya Sabha member three times, Najma Heptulla twice and Shahnawaz Hussain, who is currently a minister in the Bihar government, was elected to the Lok Sabha twice. Naqvi was also a member of the Lok Sabha for one term. Sikandar Bakht, a founding member of the party and one of its first three general secretaries, was a two-time Rajya Sabha member.
To counter the opposition’s allegations, BJP Minority Morcha chief Jamal Siddiqui has been maintaining that politics should not be mixed with religion and MPs are elected as representatives of the people and not of any religion.
“So even if we have no religion or caste, we should understand that we have our own countrymen. Responsibilities keep changing in the BJP and I am sure the party will ensure representation of all communities,” he said.
The party also has Muslim MLAs in some states, including one each in Bihar and UP.
However, in the wake of the opposition consistently accusing the BJP of being an anti-Muslim party and attempting to divide and divide the country on religious lines, Prime Minister Narendra recently in his recent National Executive meeting in Hyderabad, BJP leaders from disadvantaged sections. asked to do farming. Apart from Hindus, there are other communities as well. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma also highlighted the good performance of the party in local elections in some areas with Muslim population.
Looking at the current political scenario, according to political pundits, the BJP would not want to lose any chance to woo the country’s largest minority community, the Muslim community, and projecting Naqvi as its Vice Presidential candidate would be a big step in that direction. He.
To woo members of tribal communities in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Bihar and Rajasthan, the BJP recently played a masterstroke by nominating Draupadi Murmu, a tribal leader from Odisha, as its presidential candidate.
If the ruling BJP eventually nominates Naqvi as its vice-presidential candidate, it will not only counter allegations of being an anti-Muslim party, but will also be able to convince the vast minority members that the saffron party cares for Indian Muslims. and they have representation in the party. While there is no official confirmation from the party, apart from Naqvi there are other names in the fray for the post of Vice President – Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan, former Union Minister Najma Heptulla and former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh.
It is noteworthy that the term of Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu ends on August 10 and according to the Election Commission, the last date for nomination for the Vice President is July 19. Scrutiny of nomination papers will be held on July 20 and the last date. July 22 is the deadline for withdrawal of candidature. The election of the Vice President will be held on 6 August while the next Vice President will take oath on 11 August.