This story is from May 28, 2014

Muslims are not minorities, Parsis are: Najma Heptullah

NEW DELHI: Minority affairs minister Najma Heptullah on Tuesday said Muslims were not minorities by any stretch of the imagination and instead Parsis with their dwindling population qualified for the tag.
On her first day in office, Heptullah appeared determined to reorient the ministry by playing down its role in welfare of Muslims and dismissing the policies espoused by the UPA government.
"Muslims are not minorities. Parsis are. We have to see how we can help them so that their numbers don't diminish," she told reporters when asked how her government proposed to take Muslim welfare forward.

With more questions about the community being lobbed at her, Heptullah snapped back, "This is not the ministry for Muslim affairs, this is the ministry for minority affairs."
The remarks from the experienced politician, who is the grand-niece of freedom fighter Abul Kalam Azad and has played the major part of her political innings in Congress, appeared in line with BJP's point of view. There was speculation in the run-up to government formation that Prime Minister Narendra Modi may disband the minority affairs ministry or merge it with a bigger ministry like social justice, a reason why the appointment of a minister came as a surprise.
However, a change of approach may be in store. Given that most of the ministry's policies are specifically targeted at Muslims, Heptullah steered clear of giving her views on the policies or what she planned to do. "Till I get guidance from the PM, I will not draw a roadmap for my ministry," she said.
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