Notably, this is the first time that no Muslim MP has taken oath as minister after the election.
Interestingly, even the outgoing council of ministers did not have a Muslim minister after Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi was not re-elected to Rajya Sabha.
Of the 71 ministers who took the oath alongside PM Narendra Modi, 30 are cabinet ministers, five hold independent charges, and 36 are ministers of state.
Figures suggest that the first time since India’s Independence, the Union cabinet is devoid of Muslim representation.
The composition of the council of ministers sworn in after every general election had at least one Muslim MP in it.
In 2014, when PM Narendra Modi took oath for the first time, Najma Heptulla was sworn in and was made minority affairs minister.
In 2019, Naqvi was sworn in and he too became minority affairs minister.
Even during Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s term in 1999, there were two Muslim ministers — Shahnawaz Hussain and Omar Abdullah. And in 1998, Vajpayee’s ministry included Naqvi as a Minister of State.
One of the reasons for zero Muslim representation in this council of ministers is that no Muslim candidate from National Democratic Alliance allies got elected to the 18th Lok Sabha.
In the recent elections, the BJP fielded only one Muslim candidate, in Mallapuram, M. Abdul Salam who finished third.
However, the picture is not so grim for the Muslims as 24 Muslim MPs have been elected to the lower House. Out of them 21 are from the INDIA bloc and the remaining are Asaduddin Owaisi of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen and two Independents — Abdul Rashid Sheikh or ‘Engineer Rashid’ and Mohmad Haneefa from J&K.
BJP leader Narendra Modi made history by taking the oath as India’s 15th Prime Minister, marking his third consecutive term in office.
This milestone makes Modi the first Prime Minister since Jawaharlal Nehru to lead the Union government for three consecutive terms. Yet, absence of Muslims from the Cabinet positions is providing a topic of discussion to many.
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