Congress reduced minority affairs ministry to 'Muslim affairs' ministry to secure votes: Kiren Rijiju

Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar (Maharashtra) [India], October 14 : Union Minister Kiren Rijiju has criticised the Congress party, stating that it had transformed the Ministry of Minority Affairs into a Muslim Affairs Ministry to secure votes.
Addressing a press conference in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar on Sunday, Rijiju said, "Congress party had made the Ministry of Minority Affairs into a Muslim Affairs Ministry to make a particular community vote bank. At that time they made a rule that only a Muslim can be the chairman of the National Minority Commission. This is unconstitutional... This committee was formed to look after 6 minority communities, but the other 5 communities were sidelined. Everyone has suffered because of this."
Targeting Congress further, Rijiju alleged that the party had used a divide-and-rule strategy to secure votes in the elections.
"This has harmed everyone, but the biggest loss has been to Muslims because the Congress party established Muslims as a vote bank. Whenever a community becomes a vote bank, it suffers greatly because during elections, the Congress party thinks they are guaranteed 15 percent of the Muslim vote, so they don't need to do anything for them. Their (Congress) strategy has been to divide and rule in order to secure votes. By turning Muslims into a vote bank, they have caused harm to Muslims and to the country as well," he said.
The assembly elections in Maharashtra are expected to be held later this year. The Election Commission of India is yet to announce poll dates.
The upcoming Maharashtra election will see a contest between the Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition, comprising the Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP (Sharad Pawar faction), and Congress, and the ruling Mahayuti Alliance, which includes the BJP, Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction), and NCP (Ajit Pawar faction).
In the 2019 assembly election, the BJP won 105 seats and the Congress won 44 seats.