Kochi (Kerala):  Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju  on Tuesday reiterated that the Centre’s amendments to the Waqf Act are not directed against the Muslim community, but are aimed at correcting past legal imbalances and ensuring justice in land ownership across the country.

Addressing a press conference in Kochi, the Union Minister emphasised that the government's objective was to ensure that no one in India is able to "unilaterally or forcefully" claim another person’s land. He was accompanied by Union Minister of State George Kurien and Kerala BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar at the briefing.

“There is a narrative that the Central government is against Muslims. But it's not true,” Rijiju said. “We brought amendments to this law because earlier, there were unprecedented powers given to Waqf. We are here to correct the mistakes committed in the past and provide justice to people,” he added.

Rijiju also appealed to the Muslim community not to allow themselves to be treated as a political vote bank. “I appeal to the Muslims to not become the vote bank of the Congress party and Communist parties. Once you become a vote bank, you are treated like a commodity,” he said. He added that he had earlier warned both the Congress and the Left parties against reducing any community to just electoral capital.

Referring to the Munambam land dispute in Kerala, Rijiju  said the incident was one of the reasons that prompted the government to act. “India has the largest Waqf properties in the world. The Munambam case came to our attention some time ago, and I was deeply disturbed when I learnt about it,” he said.

“Nearly 600 fishermen who had begun paying land taxes were suddenly informed that 404 acres of land in Munambam had been declared Waqf property by the Kerala Waqf Board. This is how the tragedy unfolded, and the people realised the injustice done to them,” the Minister said.

Rijiju also underlined the importance of land security for all citizens. “Land is the most precious thing for us. If you lose your land, you lose everything. That is why we believe there should be no provision for anyone to unilaterally or forcefully take over another person’s land. We must make laws to protect every inch of land for its rightful owner,” he stated.