Kochi, April 15 -- Union Minister of Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday appealed to the Muslim community not to allow themselves to be used as a vote bank by opposition parties, including the Congress and the Left, noting that once they become a vote bank, they will be treated as a commodity.

Addressing a press conference in Kochi, Rijiju said he had also appealed to the Congress and UDF to vote and support the Waqf Amendment Bill and not play "vote bank politics".

"I appealed to them (Congress and UDF) on the floor of the house to please vote and support (the bill)... I told them, don't play vote bank politics... Don't treat any community as a vote bank, and I'm telling our Muslim brothers and sisters, don't become the vote bank ...