Union Minister Rijiju responds to Zakir Naik's comment on Waqf Amendment Bill, asks him to not mislead Indian Muslims

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju has urged controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik to not "mislead" Indian Muslims and spread "false propaganda" over the government's Waqf Amendment Bill.

Rijiju’s comments followed Zakir Naik's social media post on X (formerly Twitter), where he urged all Indian Muslims to sign an online petition rejecting the Modi government's Waqf Amendment Bill to protect Waqf properties.

“This is an urgent call to the Muslims in India to stop this evil which breaches the sacred status of Waqf and has evil repercussions on the future of Islamic institutions. We will bear Allah’s wrath and the curse of subsequent generations if we allow this bill to pass. Stop the evil or bear its liabilities in this life and the Hereafter! Say no to the Waqf Amendment Bill!” (sic), reads Naik's post.

The Islamic preacher currently lives in Malaysia where he secured a permanent resident status.
Naik, a wanted fugitive in India for alleged money laundering and hate speeches, left the country in 2016.

Naik said the proposed law bore "evil repercussions" and appealed to the Muslims to send in their rejections to the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) of the Indian Parliament that is examining the Bill.

He shared a QR code and a URL to an online petition, asking at least 5 million Indian Muslims to send their rejections by September 13.

"Please do not mislead the innocent Muslims from outside our country. India is a democratic country and people have the right to their own opinion. False propaganda will lead to wrong narratives," said the Union Minister.

The Waqf Amendment Bill is supposed to make around 44 changes to the existing version, including the requirement of two non-Muslim persons, a Union Minister, three MPs and senior IAS officers on the Waqf board.
The amendments also propose the inclusion of women.

The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, currently under scrutiny by a joint parliamentary committee, also proposes to reform the registration process of the properties under the Waqf board. The proposal aims to create a centralized portal which would streamline the management and protection of these properties.