BJP likely to scrap Minority ministry, merge it with Social Justice and Empowerment ministry
New Delhi: The Ministry of Minority Affairs, established by the UPA government in 2006, is likely to be merged with the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment by Central government
According to a report published in Deccan Herald, sources in the government have revealed that all their schemes of the ministry will be continued post merger
The Union government is of the view that the ministry was merely a part of the UPA government’s appeasement policy and no such separate ministry for minority affairs was needed. The government, therefore, wishes to make the ministry a part of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment again, said a source.
The Ministry, headed by Smriti Irani, also Minister for Women and Child Development, refused to comment on the matter.
Syed Naseer Hussain, Congress Rajya Sabha member, however, called it another attempt by the BJP at polarization in society. “A ministry separate from the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment was set up to bring the minority communities to the mainstream and implement programs for their uplift,” the MP told sources.
Syed Tanveer Ahmed, secretary of Jamaat-e-Hind, said that abolition of the ministry was a move against the spirit of the Constitution of India as it will harm the human development index of the country, sources said. He urged the government to focus on granting more money to and strengthening the ministry for the welfare of the minorities.
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NEET student hangs self in Rajasthan's Sikar
Jaipur (PTI): A student preparing for the NEET examination allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in a rented room in Rajasthan's Sikar on Friday, police said.
According to the police, the student allegedly hanged himself from a ceiling fan using his sister's scarf while one sister was attending coaching classes and the other was in the bathroom.
He had appeared in the NEET UG exam 2026, which was cancelled due to paper leak, they said.
Udyog Nagar SHO Rajesh Kumar said that the deceased, identified as Pradeep Meghwal, was a resident of Kanika ki Dhani village in Jhunjhunu's Gudha Gaudji area.
He had been living in a rented room in Sikar's Jaldhari Nagar area with his two sisters while preparing for NEET over the last three years.
His elder sister later found him hanging and informed the landlord and police after bringing him down, officials said.
The SHO said the body was kept at SK Hospital mortuary, and a postmortem had not been conducted.
The student's father, Rajesh Kumar Meghwal, told police that Pradeep's NEET examination had gone well and the family was expecting him to score around 650 marks.
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot expressed grief over the incident and linked it to anxiety among students after reports of irregularities and paper leaks in NEET 2026.
Pilot said repeated paper leak incidents and cancellation of examinations were affecting students' mental health and demanded a time-bound investigation and strict action against those responsible.
