Kochi (Kerala) [India], April 15 (ANI): Union Minister of Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday appealed to the Muslim community not to allow themselves to be used as a vote bank by opposition parties, including the Congress and the Left, noting that once they become a vote bank, they will be treated as a commodity.
Addressing a press conference in Kochi, Rijiju said he had also appealed to the Congress and UDF to vote and support the Waqf Amendment Bill and not play “vote bank politics”.
“I appealed to them (Congress and UDF) on the floor of the house to please vote and support (the bill)… I told them, don’t play vote bank politics… Don’t treat any community as a vote bank, and 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,” Rijiju said.
“Don’t become the vote bank for the communists and the congress. The country is suffering. Any society will suffer if you treat the community as a vote bank,” he added.
On the Waqf Act, Rijiju said that land must be protected and that no authority should be able to take land away from rightful owners without due process.
He clarified that the amendments made to the Waqf Act are not targeted against any community but are aimed at correcting earlier provisions.
“Land is the most precious thing for us. If you lose your land, you lose everything. That is why we have considered that in India, there should not be any provision for anybody to forcefully and unilaterally take away someone’s land. We must make laws to protect every inch of land for its rightful owner. We brought amendments to this law, as earlier, there were unprecedented powers given to Waqf. This is not targeted towards Muslims. There is a narrative that the Central govt is against Muslims. But it’s not true. We are here to correct the mistakes committed in the past and provide justice to people,” the Union Minister of Minority Affairs stated.
He cited the Munambam case in Kerala as an example, where 600 fishermen living there started paying taxes for the land, and suddenly, the Kerala Waqf Board declared 404 acres of variable land in Munambam as Waqf property.
He stated that looking at such incidents, the Modi government had decided to bring amendments to the Waqf Act to stop any arbitrary declaration of any land as Waqf land.
“India has the largest Waqf properties in the world. In India, Waqf has the largest number of properties… The Munambam case came before us some time ago. I was deeply upset when I learnt about this case. The 600 fishermen living there started paying taxes for the plan, and suddenly, the Kerala Waqf Board declared the 404 acres of variable land in Munambam as Waqf property. This is how the tragedy came before us, and people learnt about the injustice done to people. Looking at the pain of such people, the Modi government decided to bring amendments to the Waqf Act. Now, there will not be an arbitrary declaration of any land as Waqf land,” Rijiju said.
The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, which was tabled in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on April 2 and 3, respectively, was passed in both Houses and later received the President’s assent on April 5, after which it became law. (ANI)
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