Minorities enjoy full freedom in India, don’t spread falsehoods, says Rijiju

Union Minister for Parliamentary and Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju was addressing the Reforms Utsav – Celebrating 12 years of reforms for the development of minority communities in New Delhi on Thursday. | Photo Credit: X/@RijijuOffice via ANI

Union Minister for Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Thursday (June 4, 2026) said minorities in India have full freedom and can practice their faith and way of life without hindrance. He said efforts are being made from abroad to project a false narrative of persecution.

“No individual was forced to leave the country because of religious identity… Criticize government policies if you want, but don’t spread falsehoods,” the minister said while attacking the opposition.

Speaking at the ministerial ‘Reforms Utsav’ to mark 12 years of the Narendra Modi government, Mr. Rijiju highlighted technology-driven initiatives, but said details of nearly 45% Waqf properties are yet to be uploaded on the UMEED portal and that scholarship issues remain outstanding.

UMEED is a centralized digital platform for real-time recording, verification and monitoring of Waqf properties. It was launched on June 6, 2025, with an initial six-month period to register approximately 9 million such properties across India.

“There are so many deficiencies in the various State Waqf boards… the title documents are faulty… thousands of acres are recorded on paper at some places but the soil on the ground tells a different story. We are constantly holding workshops and sessions to help the Mutawallis to register the Waqf properties. It is a labor intensive process and will take some time,” he said.

The minister admitted that the provision of scholarships, one of the ministry’s biggest social initiatives, remained affected by investigations into alleged fraud in several states. Referring to cases where scholarships were allegedly demanded in the names of fictitious students, Mr. Rijiju said he hoped the ongoing CBI probe would end soon and the program could continue.

“We cannot start scholarships by excluding those institutions that are under investigation for fraud. So we will have to wait until the investigation is over,” he added.

Mr. Rijiju said the ministry’s annual budget has increased from ₹1,949 crore in 2014 to the current ₹4,115 crore, a jump of 111%. But the government’s efforts have received limited attention and negative developments have received disproportionate coverage, he said.

Regarding the Munambam land dispute in Kerala, the Minister said the matter is under investigation by the Law Ministry and stressed that no citizen should suffer due to administrative lapses or injustice.

AI for Hajj

During the event, which was attended by beneficiaries of various schemes, the ministry showcased demonstrations of an AI helpline for Hajj pilgrims.

“The chatbot will be accessible through an app that pilgrims will be able to call, apart from being available on WhatsApp. The voice chatbot is only available on its own app as WhatsApp calls are banned by the Saudi government,” the official said.

An escalation bot will be available to handle complex queries where human assistance is required, a Gnani.ai representative said at the event. The company’s chatbot will be launched in the coming months on behalf of the ministry and will support queries in 12 languages.

Gnani.ai will integrate the Haj Suvidha app, which will allow pilgrims to submit applications by automatically retrieving details from their passports using phone cameras. The integration also supports automatic refunds where eligible.

The ministry also signed a memorandum of understanding with EkStep Foundation to create a shared digital infrastructure with artificial intelligence to facilitate the discovery of livelihood opportunities and social security systems for artisans and minorities.

Ministry Secretary Srivatsa Krishna outlined the ministry’s vision for his third term based on the principles of “Reform, Perform, Transform and Inform”. He highlighted the significant progress made in digitalisation, skill development, strengthening of education and transparency of service delivery.

Published – 04 Jun 2026 21:47 IST