Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju met Most Rev. Bishop Visvasam Selvaraj at Bishop House, Dairy Farm, Sri Vijaya Puram, in the South Andaman District of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands on Friday, June 19, 2026, as part of a special public outreach campaign marking 12 years of the Modi government.

Context

Rijiju, who also holds the portfolio of Minority Affairs, was accompanied by Anil Kumar Tiwari, State President of the BJP's Andaman and Nicobar unit. The delegation presented Bishop Selvaraj with a booklet outlining key achievements of the central government over the past 12 years under what the party is calling the Special Public Outreach Campaign, branded under the hashtag #12YearsOfSeva (12 years of service).

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a centrally administered Union Territory with a significant Christian population, making the island's religious leadership a natural point of contact for a minister who oversees minority affairs at the national level.

Policy Backdrop

Since the Narendra Modi-led NDA government assumed office in May 2014, the ruling dispensation has periodically mounted nationwide campaigns to communicate scheme implementation and development milestones to citizens across regions and communities. The 12-year milestone — covering two full terms and an ongoing third — has prompted a structured outreach effort targeting diverse constituencies.

Rijiju's dual role as Parliamentary Affairs Minister and Minority Affairs Minister positions him as a key interlocutor with religious and community institutions, particularly in geographically remote or minority-heavy regions such as the island territories. Engaging the Church leadership in the Andamans fits squarely within this mandate.

Stakeholders and Impact

The Christian community of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands represents a significant segment of the Union Territory's population, and the Bishop of Sri Vijaya Puram is among the senior-most ecclesiastical figures in the region. A direct ministerial visit to Bishop House signals the central government's intent to maintain direct channels with minority religious leadership beyond the mainland.

For island residents more broadly, the outreach campaign's booklet is designed to consolidate awareness of central schemes — ranging from infrastructure and housing to welfare programmes — that have been rolled out in the territory over the past decade-plus. Such visits also carry symbolic weight, reinforcing the government's messaging on inclusive governance.

What's Next

The Special Public Outreach Campaign is expected to extend to additional Union Territories and minority-concentrated regions as the #12YearsOfSeva drive continues. Further engagements with religious and community leaders — across faiths and geographies — are likely as the BJP seeks to broaden its outreach footprint ahead of any forthcoming electoral or policy review cycles. The Andaman visit may set a template for similar ministerial calls in other island and border territories where minority communities form a notable share of the electorate.