Government reaching out to minorities with ‘Mission Empowerment’ initiative

NEW DELHI: The government is reaching out to minorities to dispel the furore caused by the so-called ‘ghar wapsi’ programmes launched by Hindu right-wing groups. Under a new ‘Mission Empowerment’ initiative, officials from the minority affairs ministry will visit 100 districts in which members of the minority communities, mainly Muslims and Christians, are present in large numbers.

In parallel, the I&B ministry is planning an ad film featuring superstar Amitabh Bachchan, urging people to look at development, progress and prosperity and think beyond caste and religion, as per an official. ET was not able to reach Bachchan for his comments though a person close to him said he has not been approached so far.

MoS for Minority Affairs MA Naqvi will visit districts where the minority population exceeds 25%, to examine the extent to which welfare schemes have reached intended beneficiaries and convince them that the BJP-led regime is not against them. These districts include 90 that were listed by the Rajinder Sachar Committee as having a sizable minority population. The government has added 10 more to this list.

“We need to tell minorities that the Modi government is different from the earlier regimes and is committed to delivering on the ground,” Naqvi told ET. Naqvi will start by visiting the Wayanad district in Kerala on January 3, followed by Andhra Pradesh and Telangana on January 8, Haryana on January 9 and so on.

I&B ministry officials said the ad film has been made under the supervision of the PMO. The film will portray the festivals of India and talk about the nation’s diversity. The ad film is likely to feature Modi and messages from ministers, including finance minister Arun Jaitley. Experts from film and ad industry who have worked with BJP earlier have been consulted for inputs for the ad, sources said. The ad is likely to be released on DD and other channels during the second week of January.

The initiative launched by Naqvi will focus on districts of states where members of the Muslim community are present in large numbers and where BJP wants to increase its political footprint before they go to polls in the coming months. By reaching out to the minorities, the party hopes to reap political benefits as well. In West Bengal, BJP claims to have made impressive inroads among the Muslims in the last few months.

“The minority affairs ministry is in touch with the PMO to simplify schemes and the manner of disbursing loans to the minorities,” Naqvi said.

(Inputs from Vasudha Venugopal)