Smriti Irani Gets Additional Charge Of Ministry Of Minority Affairs, Scindia Assigned Ministry Of Steel

Naqvi's Rajya Sabha term ends on July 7 and he has not been renominated by BJP to the Upper House.

Union Ministers Smriti Irani and Jyotiraditya Scindia

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New Delhi: Union Minister Smriti Irani will be assigned the Ministry of Minority Affairs portfolio in addition to her existing charge of Women and Child Development Ministry, after Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi resigned from the post, news agency ANI reported. Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia will be assigned the Ministry of Steel after the resignation of Union Minister Ram Chandra Prasad Singh.

President of India, as advised by PM, accepts the resignations of Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Ram Chandra Prasad Singh from Union Council of Ministers, with immediate effect. Smriti Irani to be assigned Ministry of Minority Affairs charge, in addition to her existing portfolio. (1/2)

— ANI (@ANI) July 6, 2022

BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, earlier in the day, resigned as the Union Minister of Minority Affairs. It is to be noted that Naqvi's Rajya Sabha term ends on July 7 and he has not been renominated by BJP to the Upper House.

According to a statement by the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Wednesday, President Ram Nath Kovind accepted the resignations of Union ministers Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Ram Chandra Prasad Singh with immediate effect.

As per the Rashtrapati Bhavan statement, "...as advised by the Prime Minister, the President has directed that Smriti Zubin Irani, Cabinet Minister, be assigned the charge of the Ministry of Minority Affairs, in addition to her existing portfolio." 

READ | Union Ministers Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, RCP Singh Resign A Day Before Their Rajya Sabha Term Ends

Notably, after the resignation of Naqvi, the BJP has no Muslim MP among its 395 Members of Parliament. Naqvi, who resigned from the Cabinet on Wednesday, was among the three BJP Muslim MPs whose term ended during the recent round of Rajya Sabha polls to 57 seats across 15 states, but none of them were renominated by the party.

READ | With Naqvi's Term Ending, No Muslim Among BJP MPs

The term of two others, former Union minister M J Akbar and Syed Zafar Islam, has already ended.