NEW DELHI: Minority affairs minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday rejected the perception that minorities were being discriminated against, saying this narrative was nothing but propaganda and a “malicious campaign aimed at tarnishing India’s image” by certain forces inside and outside the country.
Rijiju Attacks Opposition for Reinforcing Negative Perception
He also attacked the opposition parties for reinforcing this perception by attacking the government. “Sometimes people say minorities are not getting justice in India, they allege that a conspiracy has been hatched against minorities and that they are not safe. The reality is that no injustice is being done to any minority community,” Rijiju said while addressing a programme organised by the minority affairs ministry to mark reforms undertaken during the tenure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who completes 12 years in office on June 9.
External Propaganda and Jealousy
He added that some resort to propaganda from outside the country as they are jealous of the development happening in India. “They want to weaken the country by resorting to propaganda to divide people,” Rijiju said.
Ministry Highlights Budget Increase and Reforms
Sharing data on schemes at the programme titled ‘Reforms Utsav’, minority affairs secretary Srivatsa Krishna said that in 2014, the ministry’s budget was Rs 1,949 crore, “today it is Rs 4,115 crore, doubling in the last 10 years and marking a 111% increase, yet we face this criticism which I feel is unfair and misplaced”.
Waqf Properties Upload Progress
Meanwhile, it will be one year since the government launched a central portal under the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, on June 6, on which all waqf properties were mandated to register within six months. However, many state waqf boards have secured extensions from tribunals under the amended law that allows for up to a six-month extension to upload property details,” Krishna said.
The uploading process of details of 4.96 lakh waqf properties has been completed on the Umeed central portal-2025, while the uploading process for around 2.45 lakh properties is in various stages, as per the ministry. The ministry said that details of around 55% of waqf properties have been uploaded on the portal so far. Efforts are on, in coordination with state waqf boards, to ensure that the remaining are able to upload their details, as many don’t have the complete and necessary documents, it said.
