On Monday, October 3, Deccan Herald set the cat among the pigeons with its report that the Government of India was considering scrapping the Ministry of Minority Affairs (MoMA) and re-merging it with the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MSJE), out of which it was originally carved in 2006.
The publication cited highly placed sources who told the publication that the current Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led regime viewed the creation of the ministry by the previous Congress led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) as “part of UPA’s appeasement policy.” The source further told the publication that the present regime feels that there’s “no need for an independent ministry for minority affairs,” and that it would be brought back into the social justice ministry as the Department of Minority Affairs.
After Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, the only Muslim face in the BJP-led government resigned in July, Minister for Women and Child Development Smriti Irani has held additional charge of the MSJE. However, the Deccan Herald report carried no official corroboration on the record from either MoMA or MSJE.
As expected, as soon as the report was published, right-wing publications amplified it.
Report Says Modi Govt Will Scrap Minority Affairs Ministryhttps://t.co/MajTIQdF3t
— Swarajya (@SwarajyaMag) October 3, 2022
If all Indians are equal
Then why do we need Minority Affairs Ministry?
Scrap it, nation is with you #Modiji pic.twitter.com/DUPhaO5KK4
— Post Card (@postcard_news) October 3, 2022
While Twitter trolls lauded the “long-awaited” move, some minority rights advocacy groups and socio-political organisations associated with minority groups expressed concerns over the decision.
News reports of the union government’s plan to scrap the minority affairs ministry is of high concern, especially in the current India where the minorities, especially the Muslims are facing stark discrimination and atrocities from the extreme right-wing Hindutva forces@MKFaisy pic.twitter.com/15TzECy8v0
— SDPI (@sdpofindia) October 3, 2022
In fact, Deccan Herald itself quoted Syed Tanveer Ahmed, secretary of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind as saying, “Abolishing the ministry is against the spirit of the Constitution.” It also quoted Congress Rajya Sabha member Syed Naseer Hussain as saying that the “BJP is using every opportunity against minorities for political gains.”
Later in the day, the Fact Check team of the Press Information Bureau (PIB) of the government, dubbed the story as “Fake”.
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
▶️ This Claim is #FAKE
▶️ No such Proposal is under consideration pic.twitter.com/RcTtyzyw59
— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) October 3, 2022
The Ministry of Minority Affairs also issued an official statement, saying, “There have been reports in some sections of the media alleging that Central Government is likely to scrap the Ministry of Minority Affairs. These reports are false and contrary to facts. The Ministry of Minority Affairs rebuts these reports.”
But Deccan Herald, in a follow up report, said that “highly placed sources in the government maintained that discussions have indeed taken place on effecting such a merger.”
So, what does this entire episode, where highly placed sources divulge one thing and then an official denial is issued swiftly, suggest? Was news of a possible merger selectively leaked to test waters for a possible merger in the future? Also, one cannot ignore the timing of the story with Assembly elections due in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat in the coming months. Such decisions have a polarising impact on voters, especially those driven by an extremist ideology and thriving on a daily diet of communal hate and discord.
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