Union Minister Kiren Rijiju addressed a press conference, in New Delhi, on March 31, 2025.
| Photo Credit: PTI
Amid countrywide protests against the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Monday (March 31, 2025) slammed the Opposition parties for allegedly misleading people from the Muslim community on the Bill.
Mr. Rijiju’s statement came ahead of the Union government’s proposed plan to table the Bill in Parliament on April 2. Sources in the government said that it is hopeful that the Bill will be passed. Government managers have reached out to allies to drum up support.
“Some people are saying that the Waqf Amendment Bill is unconstitutional. Waqf rules, its provisions have been in existence since before Independence. If the Waqf Act has been in existence since before Independence, then how can it be illegal,” he asked.
The Minister said that the Opposition parties are misleading ‘innocent Muslims’ by telling them that the government will ‘snatch’ their graveyards and mosques. He added that the Opposition’s ‘propaganda’ is harmful for the country.
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“I would like to request everyone to please identify those leaders who are lying. These are the people who misguided the country during CAA. They had said that CAA was brought in to snatch the rights of Muslims,” he said.
The Minister, while extending Eid wishes, added that he is “proud” to say that minorities are the “safest” in India and enjoy the “best” rights of freedom.
Urging political parties to participate in the debate on the Bill in Parliament, Mr. Rijiju said that the legislative process has undergone a record number of consultations and deliberations over the Waqf Bill. He welcomed the Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council asking MPs from the State to back the Bill.
“It is the duty of those in politics to care for and address problems and challenges faced by our people. For example, hundreds of families in Munambam, Kerala, have suffered and continue to seek a solution to protect their properties and homes. This act is not against any community – that is propaganda being spread to poison minds of some,” Mr Rijiju said. He too asked MPs from Kerala to support the Bill in the interest of all people and refrain from ‘appeasement politics’.
The Central government, on July 28, 2024, had tabled the Bill in Parliament proposing the inclusion of non-Muslims and Muslim women on the Waqf boards. The amendment proposes to strip the boards of powers to declare a property as ‘waqf’. In August, a 31-member Joint Parliamentary Committee was set up to review the Bill.
Published – March 31, 2025 10:31 pm IST