Rs 3,400 cr allocation for minority affairs ministry evokes mixed response from Muslim bodies in UP

Muslim organisations in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday expressed mixed reactions to the hike in financial allocation for the Ministry of Minority Affairs in the Union Budget 2026-27, as compared to the revised estimates for the previous fiscal.

Muslim organisations in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday expressed mixed reactions to the hike in financial allocation for the Ministry of Minority Affairs in the Union Budget 2026-27, as compared to the revised estimates for the previous fiscal. The Budget presented on Sunday earmarked Rs 3,400 crore as budgetary estimates for the Ministry of Minority Affairs, about Rs 1,240 crore more than the revised estimates for 2025-26. In the previous Budget, Rs 3,350 crore was the estimate for the ministry, which was later revised to Rs 2,160.45 crore. This time, a provision of Rs 831.7 crore has been made for the educational empowerment of students from the minority communities. While welcoming the allocation as encouraging, Maulana Yasoob Abbas, general secretary of the All India Shia Personal Law Board, told PTI that the Shia community often does not receive the due benefits of the Budget. ''The government should look into this matter and implement a mechanism to ensure that the Shia community also receives the appropriate benefits of the Budget,'' he said. Maulana Khalid Rashid Farangi Mahali, a senior executive member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, said that considering the population of minorities in the country and their educational needs, the Budget increase fell short of what it should have been. ''Given how the budget for minority scholarships and other items had been reduced or eliminated in the past, the increase in this year's Budget is not sufficient,'' he said. Maulana Rashid also said that more ambitious schemes were needed for the employment of minorities, their higher education, and quality vocational training, for which there were great expectations from the Budget. Maulana Kaab Rashidi, legal advisor to the Uttar Pradesh unit of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, said the government allocated approximately Rs 832 crore in the Budget for the educational empowerment of students from the minority community, which was a commendable step. ''The government has presented a Budget estimate of Rs 3,400 crore for the Ministry of Minority Affairs, which is approximately Rs 1240 crore more than the revised estimate for the 2025-26 fiscal. ''The need of the hour is to utilise this budget with better planning so that the minority community can reap its full benefits,'' he said. Uttar Pradesh Minister of State for Minority Welfare, Danish Azad Ansari, welcomed the Budget, saying the government has significantly increased the allocation for the Ministry of Minority Affairs this time, which will benefit the Muslim community. Kumar Basit Ali, president of the Uttar Pradesh unit of the BJP's Minority Morcha, also said the latest allocation reflected a positive approach.

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