'Anti-India character spewing venom': Kiren Rijiju slams Zakir Naik's claims on Waqf Bill amendments

Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju has accused controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik of spreading "false propaganda and trying to create communal disturbances in India" over his remarks on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday, Rijiju wrote, "This anti-India character is spewing venoms by spreading false and fake propaganda & also trying to create communal disturbances in India. We need to unitedly fight against such people."

In a video statement, Naik had claimed that if the Waqf Bill is passed, thousands of mosques, madrasas, graveyards and lakhs of acres of land will be taken away from Muslims.

He also called the NDA-led alliance at the centre an "anti-Muslim and anti-Islamic coalition" which is trying to "usurp the properties of the Muslims."

"There are hundreds and thousands of mosques, madrassas and graveyards under the Waqf Board. The total land is 9.4 lakh acres, 41 billion sq. ft. It is a big asset and they are trying to eat this property by trying to put non-Muslims on the board," he said.

He further went on to revoke the Babri Mosque and added, "If imagine, just one mosque, the Babri Mosque was taken away a couple of decades earlier. There was big commotion and riots. If this bill is passed, there will be thousands of mosques which can be easily taken away from the Muslim Ummah."

The Waqf (Amendment) Bill has proposed several changed to the existing version including the inclusion of two non-Muslim persons, a Union Minister, three MPs and senior IAS officers in the Waqf board.

The Bill was referred to a joint committee of Parliament after a heated debate, with the opposition calling it targeting of Muslims and an attack on the Constitution.

Naik is wanted by the Indian authorities for alleged money laundering and inciting extremism through hate speeches. He left India in 2016.

The Islamic preacher was granted permanent residency in Malaysia by the previous government led by Mahathir Mohamed.

(With PTI inputs)