India's minorities enjoy full freedom to practice faith and live without interference, Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said Thursday (June 4,2026). He blamed external forces for pushing false persecution narratives in country.
At Ministry's Reforms Utsav, marking 12 years of Narendra Modi's government,Rijiju urged critics to focus on policy,not spread lies. He directly took on Opposition.
No individual had been compelled to leave country because of religious identity... Criticise government policies if you wish,but do not spread falsehoods.
The Minister highlighted tech-driven initiatives. But he admitted unresolved issues,like scholarship delivery and Waqf property digitisation .
About 45% of Waqf properties still need uploading to UMEED portal,this digital platform launched June 6,2025. It set a six-month deadline for registering around 9 lakh properties nationwide.
Rijiju pointed out shortcomings in State Waqf boards. Problems with faulty documents,land discrepancies — thousands of acres on paper don't match actual land. Workshops are ongoing to help Mutawallis register properties, a process he called laborious.
Scholarship delivery,one of Ministry's largest welfare programs,hit by fraud probes in several states. The Minister said the program can't restart for institutions being investigated. He hopes CBI probes into alleged fraud,including fake student claims,wrap up soon .
The Ministry's budget surged, up 111% from ₹1,949 crore in 2014 to ₹4,115 crore now. Yet, Rijiju bemoaned limited attention on government outreach while negative news gets all the coverage.
On Munambam land dispute in Kerala,Minister confirmed it's under Law Ministry review. He stressed no citizen should suffer due to administrative errors or injustice.
Event attendees included beneficiaries of various schemes. It also showcased AI-enabled helpline for Hajj pilgrims,accessible on WhatsApp. An official noted voice chatbot only on its app,as Saudi rules bar WhatsApp calls.
A Gnani.ai representative said an escalation bot will manage complex queries needing human help. The chatbot,supporting 12 languages, rolls out soon It'll integrate with Haj Suvidha app,letting pilgrims apply by auto-fetching passport details with phone cameras. Integration also enables automatic refunds for eligible cases.
Ministry also inked an MoU with EkStep Foundation. This aims to create a shared AI-enabled digital infrastructure to help artisans and minorities find jobs and welfare schemes easily .
Ministry Secretary Srivatsa Krishna laid out vision for its third term,based on ‘Reform,Perform,Transform and Inform’. He noted progress in digitisation,skill development,education empowerment,and transparency in service delivery .
