No place in world safer than India for minorities: Kiren Rijiju in reply on Waqf Bill

New Delhi: There is no place in the world safer than India for minorities and they are safe because the majority is entirely secular, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said on Wednesday.

Replying to the nearly 12-hour long debate on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, Rijiju, who is the Union Minorities Affairs Minister, said even minuscule minority communities like the Parsis are safe in India and all minorities here live with pride.

"Some members have said that minorities are not safe in India. This statement is completely false. There is no place safer than India for minorities. I am also a minority and we all are living here without any fear and with pride," he said after the debate on the contentious Bill.

The minister said whenever a minority community faces persecution, it always comes to India to take refuge and cited the examples of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan community, minorities of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Myanmar and Sri Lanka.

"Minorities of Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan came to India after facing religious persecution in their respective countries. How can you say that minorities are not safe in India. Very, very wrong to say this.

"The coming generation will never forgive you. Minorities in India are safe because the majorities of the country are fully secular. This is not the case in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. But still, you abuse us," he said.

Rijiju said through the Bill, the NDA government is going to unify all minorities in the country. He also highlighted the "wholehearted" support of the Christian community for the Bill.

He said a large number of disputes are pending with the Waqf tribunals and through the legislation, the government wants to expedite these cases.

"We want to expedite the resolution of the disputes in the tribunals. Justice delayed is justice denied. Widows, divorcees, and orphans will be given justice through the Bill," he said.