Amended Waqf Act not against Muslim community, meant to correct past mistakes: Kiren Rijiju

Kochi | Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday said that the amendments in the Waqf Act were not targeted at the Muslim community and instead were meant to correct "past mistakes".

The Union Minister for Minority Affairs, speaking at a press conference here, said that the intention of the Union government was to ensure that in India there is no provision for anybody to "forcefully and unilaterally" take away someone's land.

He said that the Waqf law was amended as certain provisions in it gave "unprecedented power and authority to the Waqf Boards".

"This is not targeted at Muslim community. it is to correct mistakes of the past," he said.

Rijiju, who was flanked by Union Minister of State George Kurien and state BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar, said that following the amendment, "there will be no arbitrary declaration of a land as Waqf property".

His statement comes amid protests by various Muslim groups against the amendment, which have turned violent in some parts of West Bengal.

The Waqf Bill, passed by the Parliament, received the assent of the President on April 5.

The ruling NDA has strongly defended the legislation as beneficial for minorities, while the opposition has described it as "anti-Muslim".