Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

For the first time in India’s history, no Muslim MP in ruling party

None of the party's three Muslim members of Parliament whose term ended recently is renominated

For the first time in India’s history, no Muslim MP in ruling party

India’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been left with no Muslim parliamentarians following the exit of union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.

His resignation followed the expiry of his term as a member of the Rajya Sabha or the Upper House of Parliament.


Naqvi, who headed the minority affairs ministry and is speculated to be the BJP’s candidate in the upcoming vice-president’s election, was among its three Muslim MPs whose term ended recently. But the ruling party chose not to renominate them.

This meant the BJP has no Muslim member in Parliament, a first for a ruling party in the history of independent India, given the fact none of its candidates belonging to the minority community was elected to the Lower House in the 2019 general elections.

It has 395 members in Parliament, including 301 in the Lower House.

It is also a rare occasion when Modi’s council of ministers does not have a Muslim member.

Critics allege that the right-leaning BJP is biased against Muslims, a charge the governing party has repeatedly denied. It cites Modi’s slogan of inclusive growth and claims it stands for all communities irrespective of their faiths.

BJP had fielded seven Muslim candidates in the 2014 general elections but none of them won. The result was similar five years later when it had six nominees from the community.

India is home to 200 million Muslims, making up 14.2 per cent of the population. Still, the BJP does not have a single Muslim member in the legislative assemblies of 18 out of the 28 states ruled by it on its own or in alliance with friendly parties.

This includes India’s largest state of Uttar Pradesh where the party has not fielded Muslims in two provincial elections since 2017 despite the community accounting for 19 per cent of the local population. The situation is similar in the neighbouring Uttarakhand state.

While the BJP brass, including home minister Amit Shah, claim that “winnability” is the sole criterion while picking nominees, its minority wing leader Jamal Siddiqui, said the party does not take religion into account while choosing its candidates.

“The party assigns seats depending upon the requirement and if people see it from the glasses tinted with religion, then it is really very unfortunate,” Siddiqui told Al Jazeera.

More For You

ve-day-getty

VE Day 80 street parties, picnics and community get togethers are being encouraged to take place across the country as part of the Great British Food Festival. (Photo: Getty Images)

Public invited to attend VE Day 80 procession and flypast

THE 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day will be marked with a military procession in London on May 5.

The event will include over 1,300 members of the Armed Forces, youth groups, and uniformed services marching from Parliament Square to Buckingham Palace.

Keep ReadingShow less
Knife crimes

Knife-enabled crimes include cases where a blade or sharp instrument was used to injure or threaten, including where the weapon was not actually seen.

Getty Images/iStockphoto

Knife crime in London accounts for a third of national total: ONS

KNIFE-RELATED crime in London made up almost a third of all such offences recorded in England and Wales in 2024, with the Metropolitan Police logging 16,789 incidents, according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Thursday.

This amounts to one offence every 30 minutes in the capital and represents 31 per cent of the 54,587 knife-enabled crimes reported across England and Wales last year. The total number marks a two per cent rise from 53,413 offences in 2023.

Keep ReadingShow less
Starmer and Modi

Starmer and Modi shake hands during a bilateral meeting in the sidelines of the G20 summit at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Brazil, on November 18, 2024.

Getty Images

Starmer calls Modi over Kashmir attack; expresses condolences

PRIME MINISER Keir Starmer spoke to Indian prime minister Narendra Modi on Friday morning following the deadly attack in Kashmir’s Pahalgam region that killed 26 people on Tuesday.

According to a readout from 10 Downing Street, Starmer said he was horrified by the devastating terrorist attack and expressed deep condolences on behalf of the British people to those affected, their loved ones, and the people of India. The two leaders agreed to stay in touch.

Keep ReadingShow less
 Post Office Horizon

A Post Office van parked outside the venue for the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry at Aldwych House on January 11, 2024 in London, England. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Post Office spent £600m to keep Horizon despite plans to replace it: Report

THE POST OFFICE has spent more than £600 million of public funds to continue using the Horizon IT system, according to a news report.

Despite deciding over a decade ago to move away from the software, the original 1999 contract with Fujitsu prevented the Post Office from doing so, as it did not own the core software code, a BBC investigation shows.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pahalgam attack: Prayer meet held at Indian mission in London

The prayer meet was led by Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami

Pahalgam attack: Prayer meet held at Indian mission in London

Mahesh Liloriya

A PRAYER meet was held at the Gandhi Hall in the High Commission of India in London on Thursday (24) to pay respects to the victims of the Pahalgam terrorist attack.

Chants of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ rang out at the event which was led by Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami.

Keep ReadingShow less