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‘Stung’ by minority votes in LS polls, BJP deploys Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju for image makeover ahead of Maharashtra polls

Kiren Rijiju also said that Congress projected the Ministry of Minority Affairs as the ‘ministry of Muslim affairs’ despite the fact that there are six minority communities

"We want to remove the wrong impression among Muslims that the BJP is against the community,” Union minister Kiren Rijiju said. (File Photo)

Following its dismal performance in the Lok Sabha elections that was largely attributed to a lack of support among minorities, the Maharashtra BJP unit has roped in Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju for an image makeover ahead of the Assembly elections in the state.

Notably, the BJP won only nine seats in Maharashtra in this year’s Lok Sabha elections against 23 seats in 2019.

“It’s a fact that the minority did not vote for the BJP… The main reason that I am on a tour of Maharashtra is to change the mindset of the minority community…” Rijiju told media persons in Pune.

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“If they (minority communities) are benefiting from all government schemes launched by the BJP-led government, then why are they not voting for the party? We want to remove the wrong impression among Muslims that the BJP is against the community,” the Union minister added.

He alleged that Congress misled the minority communities and instilled a fear in them that the Constitution would be altered if the BJP was voted to power. “Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and his party leaders are defaming the country across the world by saying wrong things. It was time to teach a lesson to Congress for spreading a wrong narrative,” Rijiju said.

The Union minister further said that Congress projected the Ministry of Minority Affairs as the ‘ministry of Muslim affairs’ despite the fact that there are six minority communities.

“It was mainly (done) to use the Muslim community as a vote bank and we are explaining… to the Muslim community how Congress used them only for elections,” Rijiju added.

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He also alleged that Congress downplayed the contribution of Babasaheb Ambedkar. “The Union Government will conserve every place in Maharashtra that is linked to Ambedkar and also construct Samvidhan Bhavan in all districts of the state to highlight the contribution of Ambedkar and the importance of the Constitution among the public,” concluded the BJP MP.

Ajay Jadhav

Ajay Jadhav is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express, Pune. He writes on Infrastructure, Politics, Civic issues, Sustainable Development and related stuff. He is a trekker and a sports enthusiast. Ajay has written research articles on the Conservancy staff that created a nationwide impact in framing policy to improve the condition of workers handling waste. Ajay has been consistently writing on politics and infrastructure. He brought to light the lack of basic infrastructure of school and hospital in the hometown of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde even as two private helipads were developed by the leader who mostly commutes from Mumbai to Satara in helicopter. Ajay has been reporting on sustainable development initiatives that protects the environment while ensuring infrastructure development. ... Read More

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