New Delhi: The Modi Cabinet 3.0 has been sworn in, featuring a total of 72 ministers, including 30 cabinet ministers, 5 with independent charge, and 36 ministers of state. The specific portfolios for these ministers are yet to be assigned. A notable aspect of this new cabinet is the inclusion of five leaders from minority communities, though no Muslim leaders are part of the government.
Ravneet Singh Bittu: A Sikh leader, Bittu has been appointed as a minister despite losing the election from Ludhiana, Punjab. He joined the BJP before the elections and had previously been a three-time Congress MP, winning from Anandpur Sahib in 2009 and Ludhiana in 2014 and 2019. He will now be sent to the Rajya Sabha.
Hardeep Singh Puri: Another Sikh leader and former diplomat, Puri served as Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs in the previous government. He joined the BJP in 2014 and became a Rajya Sabha MP from Uttar Pradesh in 2020.
George Kurien: Representing the Christian community from Kerala, Kurien is a prominent BJP figure and former vice-chairman of the National Commission for Minorities. Although not an MP, he is the general secretary of the BJP Kerala unit and will be appointed from the Rajya Sabha.
Kiren Rijiju: A Buddhist leader from Arunachal Pradesh, Rijiju has been part of the Modi cabinet since 2014 and is known for his involvement in the 'Look East Policy.' His father was the first pro tem speaker of Arunachal Pradesh.
Ramdas Athawale: Another Buddhist leader, Athawale is a politician and social activist from Maharashtra. He is the president of the Republican Party of India (A) and served as the Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment in the previous government. He represents Maharashtra in the Rajya Sabha.
In this election, the Muslim community largely voted for the opposition to defeat the BJP, influenced by several issues including the removal of Article 370, the ban on triple talaq, and the construction of the Ram temple. Actions against organizations like the Popular Front of India (PFI) and gangsters Atiq Ahmed and Mukhtar Ansari were perceived by the Muslim community as targeting them, further fueled by opposition politicians. The BJP's introduction of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) also sparked significant opposition from the Muslim community and their supporting political parties.
In fact, in this election, the Muslim community voted en masse for the opposition alliance to defeat the BJP government. However, it has been seen from the beginning that this community does not vote for the BJP. The Muslim community is angry with the BJP on many issues like the removal of Article 370, banning triple talaq, the construction of the Ram temple, and taking strict action against mafias. Last year, when the Bihar Police raided the Popular Front of India (PFI) hideouts in Phulwari Sharif, a shocking revelation was made, and then the central government banned it. On this too, the Muslim community had alleged that the BJP government is taking action against Muslims out of a spirit of revenge. The same thing is also spread by opposition politicians, which has now penetrated very deep in the community.
Bihar Police had recovered a document of PFI Vision 2047 in the raid, in which the target was to make India an Islamic nation by 2047, and the entire plan was made in four phases. This included first training Muslim youth in arms, then creating a rift among Hindus and getting SC/ST and OBC on their side, creating terror by selective violence, and then capturing power and making the country a Muslim nation. By talking about caste, politicians also fueled this propaganda of the fundamentalist organization PFI.
When action was taken against gangsters Atiq Ahmed and Mukhtar Ansari in UP, it was also presented as an atrocity on the Muslim community. Earlier, in the SP-Congress governments, action was not taken against these mafias, even the High Court judges used to withdraw from hearing their cases. Then the BJP government once again came under the target of the Muslim community when it announced the CAA and NRC. The Muslim community also strongly opposed this, and the parties that got their votes stood behind them. This simply meant that by stopping the CAA, victims will not be allowed to come to India and by stopping the NRC, infiltrators will not be allowed to go out. According to the data given in a report, this time 98% of the Muslim community's votes have gone to the INDIA alliance, while 2 percent of the votes have gone to the BJP-led alliance NDA, in which JDU or TDP may have got some votes. Another interesting figure has come to light in media reports, which mentions a polling booth in Rampur, where there were 100 percent Muslim voters. A total of 2322 votes were cast at this booth, but BJP got zero. Whereas, 532 houses have been given to the minority community under the PM Awas Yojana in this area. Similarly, in the 2021 Assam Assembly elections, the BJP fielded 8 Muslim candidates from Muslim-dominated seats, but none won. Even the BJP candidate did not get votes from the members of the party's own Minority Front, after which the Assam Minority Front was dissolved. During the elections, a relative of Congress leader Salman Khurshid, while campaigning for SP, had even asked Muslims to do vote jihad against BJP. The Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) had also run a campaign to vote in the same pattern. Now in such a situation, when the Muslim community does not vote for BJP due to its resentment, why should the party take the risk of losing the seat by fielding a Muslim candidate? And then, when there is no Muslim MP, how can a minister be made? However, before this, BJP itself gave the country its first and only Muslim President, Abdul Kalam Sahib. Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi was made the Minority Minister, Danish Ansari is also the Minority Minister in the UP government, while former Union Minister Arif Mohammad Khan has been appointed as the Governor of Kerala by the BJP government. Shahnawaz Hussain has been the spokesperson of this party and has also been a minister in the Atal Bihari government. Currently, Shahzad Poonawala and Syed Zafar Islam are spokespersons of BJP.
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