Union Minister Kiren Rijiju Urges Muslim Community to Reject ‘Vote Bank Politics’
Union Minister for Minority Affairs, Kiren Rijiju, on Tuesday urged the Muslim community to avoid becoming a “vote bank” for opposition parties, including the Congress and Left. Addressing a press conference in Kochi, Rijiju emphasized that once any community is reduced to a vote bank, it is treated like a commodity.
“I appealed to Congress and UDF members in the House to vote and support the Waqf Amendment Bill and not indulge in vote bank politics,” Rijiju said. “I told them not to treat any community as a vote bank. I’m telling our Muslim brothers and sisters, don’t become the vote bank of the Congress Party and the Communists. Once you become a vote bank, you will be treated like commodities,” he added.
Rijiju warned that such political strategies harm both the community and the nation. “The country is suffering. Any society will suffer if you treat a community as a vote bank,” he stated.
Regarding the Waqf Act, Rijiju clarified that the amendments were not aimed at any specific community but were intended to correct previous legal provisions. He explained that land is crucial, and no authority should be allowed to take land from rightful owners without proper legal procedures.
“The amendments to the Waqf Act were introduced to address the unprecedented powers previously granted to Waqf boards. This is not an anti-Muslim move, as some narratives suggest. We are here to correct past mistakes and provide justice,” Rijiju said.
He highlighted the Munambam case in Kerala, where 600 fishermen, who had been paying taxes on land, suddenly faced the declaration of their 404 acres as Waqf property by the Kerala Waqf Board. Rijiju emphasized that such incidents prompted the government to amend the Waqf Act to prevent arbitrary land declarations.
“India has the largest number of Waqf properties in the world. We must ensure that no land is forcibly or unilaterally declared as Waqf land. The Modi government brought these amendments to protect the rightful owners of land,” Rijiju said.
The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, introduced in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha in early April, was passed by both Houses and received Presidential assent on April 5, becoming law.
