Fact Check: Mr Rijiju, Persecution of Religious Minorities in India is Not 'Propaganda' But Reality

On Thursday (June 4), while speaking at the Minority Affairs Ministry’s “Reforms Utsav” organised at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, a one-of-its-kind event by any Union ministry to mark 12 years of the Modi government, Union minority affairs minister Kiren Rijiju made a rather bold statement. “Give me one example where a person has left India because he doesn’t feel safe due to his identity or religious background,” he asked. He also dismissed persecution of religious minorities in India as nothing but “propaganda” spread by the opposition. Coming from a minority affairs minister, this wasn’t just denial. It was a blatant distortion of ground realities, where hate violence and institutional discrimination have been on the rise. Over the past decade since the BJP came to power, India’s minorities, especially Muslims and Christian converts from marginalised communities, have faced the brunt of vigilante attacks by Hindutva extremists. And this has been possible only because the state machinery has either failed or completely turned a blind eye to such blatant attacks. If that was not bad enough, the Union government and BJP-ruled states have rolled out policies that have pushed these already vulnerable communities even further to the margins. Watch the full video to understand the many violations of minority rights that Rijiju chose to ignore in his desperate act to whitewash his government. This video is based on this article written by Sukanya Shantha: https://thewire.in/communalism/persec... Join The Wire's Youtube Membership and get exclusive content, member-only emojis, live interaction with The Wire's founders, editors and reporters and much more. Memberships to The Wire Crew start at Rs 89/month.    / @thewirenews