Hakim hits out at Bangladesh govt’s ‘inaction’ on minority attacks
Times of India | 1 December 2024
Kolkata: Kolkata mayor Firhad Hakim on Saturday criticized the Bangladesh govt's inaction on minority attacks there which, he claimed, was leading to communal tensions in India.
"What is happening in Bangladesh is not right as minorities are being attacked. They need to be protected by the majority. Again, it is not only the minorities who are being killed, even the majority community is being targeted in Bangladesh since the govt in office is inactive," he said.
The mayor, also the state urban development minister, was speaking against the waqf bill at a TMC meeting in Esplanade.
Hakim said Muslims in Bangladesh should come forward to protect the minorities and wanted a similar thing in India so that minorities can live without fear and communal tension. He said the waqf bill was planned to create division among people and flare up communal tension.
He said the Supreme Court's verdict in the Ram Mandir case was beyond question, but when one judge becomes a Rajya Sabha member and another is made a governor, questions creep in.
Hakim questioned the motive behind finding temples below mosques. "When BJP broke Babri Masjid, it hurt our beliefs. Why do we have to prove that we are also Indians? After my death, my body would be buried in this soil of India. Both Hindus and Muslims born here are Indians. What's the need to say ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai' to prove me as an Indian?" he said.
We live in a secular country and BJP was trying to destroy that secular fabric, Hakim said, adding that "in states like UP, there is a restriction on food habits and dress and people are lynched even for having chicken". He said the duty was to stop communal BJP from creating riots.
Nadimul Haque, Rajya Sabha MP, said the waqf bill was brought to create communal tension in the country.
TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee said: "BJP is trying to change the secular structure of the nation. It is different in Bangladesh and Pakistan or even in Iran and Iraq. The wakf property is dedicated to Allah, so there is a responsibility to protect the property of Allah. Even Article 26 ensures it. CM Mamata Banerjee made me a member of the JPC to protect the rights of Muslims, so we are fighting for it. Modi-ji cannot intimidate Mamata Banerjee or Trinamool Congress as we will continue to fight for justice for Muslims.
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He questioned if non-Hindus cannot enter the temples at Puri or Kashi, how can non-Muslims manage waqf property.