A day after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi resigned as Union Minister of Minority Affairs, he said that though his Rajya Sabha tenure is over, “the tenure of political and social life is not over yet.”
"The tenure of Rajya Sabha has definitely ended, but the time for the tenure of political and social life is not over yet... The Prime Minister has been a blessing, we have worked under his guidance… I will continue to work with dedication and concern for society,” he told news agency ANI.
Naqvi’s resignation came after he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier in the day amid speculation that he may contest the upcoming vice-presidential election, which is scheduled to be held on 6 August.
Meanwhile, Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani was given the additional charge of the Minority Affairs ministry, the Union government said in a press release on Wednesday.
Naqvi was the lone Muslim face in Modi's Cabinet after the BJP won the general elections in 2019. He also held the minority affairs portfolio during Modi's first term as prime minister from July 2016 onwards. Before that, he was the Minister of State for Minority Affairs.
The leader had also served as the Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting in Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government from 1998-99 after the former was elected to Lok Sabha in 1998.
In addition to being a Rajya Sabha MP, Naqvi was also the deputy leader of the Upper House of Parliament.
(With inputs from ANI.)
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