How is the amendment in the Waqf Bill beneficial for Muslims? Minority Minister Kiren Rijiju answered every question.

Union Minister for Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju said that the purpose of passing the Waqf Amendment Bill is to protect the properties of Muslims and these properties will be handed over to their real heirs. The minister said this during a press conference held in Srinagar on Saturday.

He said that some people are spreading rumors about the Waqf Amendment Bill and that by passing this bill, the Center has paved the way to grab the Waqf property. The minister said that all these rumors are fabricated and there is no truth in them.

He said that the only purpose of passing the bill was to protect the properties of Muslims. He said that the Center took this decision because thousands of Muslims had made their complaints to the central government from time to time regarding the complaints of illegal occupation of Waqf properties.

Nitish Kumar and Naidu also got support.

He said that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu were also asked for their opinion regarding the amendment in the bill. After their support, the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi introduced this bill in the Parliament. It was passed only after the amendment received huge support.

The minister said that many Muslim MPs secretly gave their full support in making amendments to this bill. However, those MPs did not come forward due to pressure from political parties.

Rijiju said that this bill is beneficial for Muslims in every way and those who oppose this bill will themselves realize their mistake in the future.

What did Rijiju say about the state status of Jammu and Kashmir?

On the question asked by the journalists, he said what is the plan of the Center to restore the state status in Jammu and Kashmir, in response to this the cabinet minister said that the Center is firm on its promise and the state will be given back the state status.

He said that Jammu and Kashmir will get the state status back, but when, on which day... I cannot say anything in this regard right now. He said that the Prime Minister has promised the people of the state in this regard and he will fulfill his promise.

When asked what and how much power the government formed in the state has, he replied I have come here in the context of the Union Budget. Hence, I cannot say anything more in this context.

However, I will say that the Lieutenant Governor is the head of this state, while the Chief Minister of the present government elected by the people, Omar Abdullah, is also playing his role as the head of the administration and both the Lieutenant Governor and the Chief Minister are running the government here successfully with mutual coordination.

Zero tolerance towards corruption in the Modi government

Referring to the recently presented Union Budget, the minister said that the budget presented at the Centre for Jammu and Kashmir is completely to the needs of the state. He said that people belonging to every section have been kept in mind in the budget.

He said that all the money kept available for the state in the budget would be spent on the overall development and prosperity of the state. The minister reiterated that the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has zero tolerance towards corruption.

He said that the Centre is making all possible efforts to stop the spread of this pandemic in the country and the efforts will continue till the country is freed from this pandemic.