Mehbooba Mufti Strongly Criticizes Indian Minister’s Visit to IIOJK Amid Waqf Amendment

Mehbooba Mufti has criticized the recent visit of Indian Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju to IIOJK, calling it a calculated move to diminish the significance of Muslim views in India.

On Wednesday, Mehbooba Mufti, the President of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), voiced strong criticism of Indian Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju’s visit to Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). This visit came shortly after the approval of the Waqf Amendment Act, which Mufti labeled as a deliberate attempt to signal that the views of Muslims in both India and IIOJK were of little importance.

Mufti made these comments in a post on X, where she expressed that Rijiju’s visit to the Tulip Garden, Asia’s largest, felt more like a public display of the Muslim community’s marginalization and disempowerment. She claimed that after pushing the Waqf Amendment Bill through Parliament, the Minister strategically chose this visit to IIOJK, a Muslim-majority region. Mufti argued that the red-carpet welcome given to Rijiju by the Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, seemed calculated to show Muslims in India that their concerns were insignificant.

“The visit, set against the backdrop of Asia’s largest tulip garden, felt like a celebration of the community’s marginalization,” Mufti wrote in her post.

Mufti also criticized the role of the Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, for reinforcing the sense of alienation among the Muslim population. By supporting Rijiju’s visit, she said, Abdullah’s actions sent a message of legitimacy to the controversial Waqf Amendment Bill, which many believe disregarded Muslim interests.

The Tulip Garden in Srinagar, located on the foothills of the Zabarwan Range and overlooking Dal Lake, covers an area of about 30 hectares. Despite its beauty, Mufti argued that the symbolism of the visit to such a picturesque location only intensified the perception of disempowerment among the local Muslim community.