On July 6, Senior BJP leader Smriti Irani was appointed to oversee minority affairs following the resignation of the current union minister of minority affairs, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.

Irani, 50, will lead the Ministry of Minority Affairs in addition to his current role as union minister for women and child welfare.

Apart from Naqvi, Janata Dal (United) leader and former union steel minister Ram Chandra Prakash Singh resigned earlier today. His portfolio has been earmarked for additional work by Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia.
Naqvi and Singh’s resignations come a day before their Rajya Sabha terms expire.

An official press release by Rashtrapati Bhavan said President Ram Nath Kovind had “accepted the resignations of the two ministers”.

“Furthermore, on the advice of the Prime Minister, the President has directed Smriti Irani to be in charge of the Ministry of Minority Affairs in addition to his current position,” it said.

The press release further stated that the President “directed cabinet minister Scindia to be in charge of the Steel Ministry in addition to his current duties.”

Naqvi, the head of the Minority Affairs Ministry since 2016, is also the only Muslim face of Narendra Modi’s government.

There is widespread speculation that Naqvi could be a candidate for the ruling BJP in the upcoming August 6 vice-presidential election.

In a Union Cabinet meeting on July 6, Prime Minister Narendra Modi put an end to this speculation by praising Naqvi’s role as a minister for the last eight years.

Naqvi, who was serving as a Rajya Sabha MP in his third term, has also been the Deputy Leader of the Upper House of Parliament since July 2021.

His successor, Irani, has also served as Minister of Textiles from 2016-2021, Minister of Information and Broadcasting from 2017-18 and Minister of Human Resource Development from 2014-16.