“It is a myth that minorities don’t vote for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP),” Danish Azad Ansari, the lone Muslim minister in Yogi Adityanath’s government, who took charge of the minority welfare, Haj and Waqf department on Wednesday, told News18 in an exclusive interview.
The 33-year-old claimed the wall between Muslims and the BJP has been shattered by the vision and development brought about by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and CM Yogi Adityanath.
Ansari was sworn in as a minister of state on Friday in the presence of top BJP leadership, including PM Modi at Ekana stadium, in Lucknow. He has been serving as the state general secretary of the BJP Minority Front (UP) and has been previously associated with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) too.
Speaking to News18 on his first day in office, Ansari said Muslims have faith in the development work of Modi and Yogi, as they were getting the benefits of government schemes without any bias. “Minorities have seen that they are getting the benefits of various government schemes, be it free ration or housing or toilet, without any kind of bias and this has increased their faith in the BJP.”
Excerpts from the interview:
ON MINORITIES
“There was a smoke screen created by the opposition that minorities are not with the BJP. It has been shattered. The opposition parties have been singing this tune as for them, minorities have always been vote bank and nothing more. Our Central and State governments led by PM Modi and CM Yogi have always worked towards development of the minorities in a real sense. There is a sense of trust for the BJP among the minorities. I have experienced it on ground,” said Danish.
“When I went to a minority-dominated area and visited the house of a poor family, they told me that they were happy with the free ration scheme and they did not have to pay any bribe or commission for it. This is really big as earlier it was believed that without bribe nothing was possible. Today, people are getting benefits of government schemes without any hindrance in Uttar Pradesh.”
“That is why history was made when people elected the BJP government for a second consecutive term. The scenario is clear, people want development and they like Modi ji, Yogi ji and the BJP,” said Ansari, who started his work by writing ‘Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem’ [The name of God, most gracious, most merciful] in English on the first page of his diary.
“Minorities now fully trust the BJP and are getting connected with the party as well. I have been the general secretary for the Minority Front and have seen people from minority communities keen on joining the party. We had constituted a big team to bring in minorities to the BJP.”
ON BECOMING A MINISTER
“Things change when you get such a big responsibility, but the intent to work for people remains the same. I want to work on ground for the development of minorities. I have even told my friends that you will not spot me in Lucknow very often and if they want to meet me, they should come on ground among minorities and youth. I love to work on ground as I have been associated with the ABVP and Minority Front.”
ON ADVICE FROM SENIORS
“The only mantra I got is to dedicate myself to people. My role models, PM Modi and CM Yogi, have also done this and this is what all party seniors tell me to do.”
ON PRIORITIES
“My priority as a minister will be to improve the conditions of minorities in the state. Our government has been working for development of minorities without any bias for the past five years and we would like to continue that. We have to work more for reformation of Madrassa education along with ensuring education, safety and health of minorities. We will study all development schemes of our government in the past five years and try to improve them further after discussion with officials and responsible people. We will also take suggestions and feedback from professors from IIMs and IITs to improve the education in Madrassas so that a child gets a job after studying there.”
ON WAQF BOARD
“There was rampant corruption in previous governments, but in the past five years, our government has worked without any bias or prejudice. In the coming days, discrepancies will be sorted, and I will try to improve the department in the best way I can. We will also seek suggestions from our officers to improve the department and help the people in turn.”
ON MADRASSA BOARD ROADMAP
“Our government has worked tirelessly for the improvement of Madrassa education. Today, a student in a Madrasa is being taught science and maths, along with religious education. This has helped the kids merge into the mainstream and get a suitable job opportunity.”
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