BJP leader Rafiya Naaz counters state minister Shilpi Neha Tirkey’s ‘anti minority’ remark against BJP

Ranchi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Jharkhand state spokesperson Rafia Naz took strong exception to state minister and a newly emerged Congress leader Shilpi Neha Tirkey, accusing the BJP of violating the rights of minorities and tribals.

“This statement is beyond facts and misleading, which tries to spread unnecessary fear and confusion in the society. Today Congress is talking about the interests of the tribal community, which is laughable because Congress was against the appointment of a tribal daughter to the highest post in the country. Apart from this, the PESA Act has not been implemented in Jharkhand yet, due to which the tribal community has been deprived of their rights,” Naaz said.

Naaz said that Congress had never been honest with tribal and minority groups and always played with the sentiments for vested interest.

“The Congress party talks about the Sarna Dharma Code while the Manmohan Singh government of the center had taken decisions against it. It has also failed to implement it; this is well known. Today Congress is sitting hand in hand with that party (RJD), whose chief was against Jharkhand as a separate state and used to say that Jharkhand will be formed over my dead body. Congress is not even able to solve the problems of the Sarna Sthal located in Ranchi Sirom Toli,” she said.

The Muslim BJP leader Rafia questioned the Congress party’s claim of being secular and democratic. “When the Waqf Board was amended thrice in 1994, 1995, and 2013 by the Congress, was it not anti-democracy or anti-minority?” she said.

Rafia, who is also a yoga teacher and always remained in controversy among a section of the Muslim community, asked Congress to worry about poor Muslims, not mafias.

“The BJP government wants that through the Waqf Board amendment, the Waqf property should be freed from the clutches of land mafias and looters and be used in the interest of poor Muslims. Congress should worry about poor Muslims,” she said.

Rafia said the action of BJP and Congress reflects their intention regarding minorities.

“The BJP-led NDA government gave Missile Man APJ Abdul Kalam, who came from a minority community, the highest position in the country. Has the Congress ever made any Muslim brother the president till date?” she said.
Naaz sharing information regarding the recently passed bill is based on the recommendations made by the Sacchar Committee and does not interfere with the freedom of any religious institution.

“The bill being brought is based on the Sachar Committee report (which talked about reforms), which was made by the Congress. This bill will not interfere with the freedom of any religious institution. Forget about taking away anyone’s rights. Bill is for reform, not for rebellion. This bill will also ensure the rights of poor Muslims and women,” she said.

She said today there are about 8 lakh acres of Waqf property in the country, whose value is more than Rs 12 lakh crore. But it is sad that a large part of these properties has fallen prey to disputes and corruption. Incidents of illegal occupation and looting of Waqf Board properties have come to light in many states. The BJP government wants to stop this loot and ensure that Waqf properties are used in the interest of the society and not to fill the pockets of some corrupt leaders and officials.

Under this amendment, the government is promoting digitalization to bring transparency in the functioning of the Waqf Board and eliminate corruption. Also, it is being ensured that no property goes to any other institution illegally.

Rafia Naz, targeting the Congress party, said that it is trying to mislead the minority and tribal communities by giving misleading information regarding the Waqf Amendment Bill.

Rafia said that the BJP government has always been working for the welfare of tribals and minorities. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has adopted the policy of “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas” and has run many important schemes for the development of the tribal and minority community, like Garib Namaz Yojana, Ustad Yojana, Ujjwal Yojana, Ayushman Bharat, Manzil Yojana, Van Dhan Yojana, Scheduled Tribe Training Scheme, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, etc. along with general schemes, they have never been deprived.

Rafia appealed to the minority community to be cautious of the misleading propaganda of the opposition and understand the truth. The BJP government is working for the development of all and will continue to do so, and the respected Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants that APJ Abdul Kalam should emerge from every house.

She said that Congress is only for its vote bank; instead of misleading the minority and tribal communities, it should cooperate in maintaining harmony and unity in the society. The goal of the BJP government is to work for the welfare and development of all citizens, and it is continuously making efforts in this direction.

Rafiya’s statement came after Congress minister Shilpi Neha Tirkey said that the amendment in the Waqf Bill is an attack on the rights of the country’s 27% Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Jain, and Buddhist minority population. She said through this bill, the rights of the Muslim community have been snatched away; in the coming times, this will be an attack on the rights of other minority communities.

She said that according to Articles 14, 25, and 30 of the Constitution, minorities have been given many fundamental rights to manage the ownership of their properties and to propagate religion. Through this bill, the BJP has tried to create a narrative. The BJP has passed many such bills from the House that have not been discussed; the BJP shows something to the society, public, and media, but their internal work plan is something else. Through the 8-hour discussion in the House, the BJP has tried to show that this country does not belong to 27% minorities. In the case of the Waqf Bill amendment, the BJP is only serving lies to the country.
BJP talks about Muslim empowerment in favor of amendment in this bill, but every Muslim of the country, every section of the society, knows that BJP is not a well-wisher of Muslims. Through this bill, BJP has tried to tell that this country will not be run by the Constitution and law but by the law of BJP.

BJP talks about giving rights to Muslim women through this amendment, but the truth is that BJP always works to humiliate Muslim women. BJP should tell how many Muslim women MPs and MLAs there are in their party. If BJP is so concerned about Muslim women, then in the coming Bihar assembly elections, 50% of the seats should be given to women, and out of that, 10% should be Muslim women.

Regarding this bill, BJP says that this will protect the lands of the tribals. BJP tries to be a well-wisher of the tribals, but this is just a mask. In 2014, the BJP government created a land bank and included the Sarna, Masna, and Hadgadi non-cultivated common land of the tribals in it. To benefit its capitalist friends, the BJP government put 21 lakh acres of land in the land bank and signed more than 201 MoUs.

During the BJP regime, an attempt was made to change the CNT SPT Act, the biggest law for the protection of tribal lands, within just 3 minutes. Land digitization was done in 2014, as a result of which even today villagers roam from office to office with the papers of their lands; this is the result of the black deeds of the BJP. The mandatory requirement of Gram Sabha in the Forest Rights Act was abolished during the BJP regime. It was not even discussed in the Lok Sabha. Enraged by the defeat in Jharkhand in 2019 and 2024, they want to polarize Jharkhand.

All the big leaders of Jharkhand BJP read out the instructions received from the Nagpur headquarters of RSS in front of the media; they have no thinking of their own. Those who looted tribal lands are today trying to become the biggest protectors of the tribals, but the people of Jharkhand recognize such faces; BJP should stop becoming the well-wisher of the tribals. Former state Congress president Pradeep Balmuchu said that BJP talks in double terms. In the House, the Union Minister talks about Muslim empowerment in relation to this bill, and in the state, BJP leaders accuse Congress and JMM of appeasement. BJP calls this bill a protector of tribal lands, whereas in Jharkhand, tribal lands are already protected through the CNT SPT Act. If BJP had followed it honestly during its long tenure, there would not have been so many problems related to tribal lands.