Hours after suspending TMC MLA Humayun Kabir over his plan to build a Babri Masjid-style mosque in Murshidabad, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday likened him to “traitor Mir Jafar” and warned people against falling into the “trap of communal politics”.
Addressing a rally in Bahrampur, Murshidabad, against the Election Commission’s SIR exercise, Mamata, without taking Kabir’s name, said, “Some kulangar (black sheep) are spreading rumours after taking money from the BJP.
Don’t believe them. There are some Mir Jafar gaddars (Mir Jafar-like traitors) in every religion. They are trying to create unrest in Murshidabad. They are basically agents of the BJP.”
Invoking Murshidabad’s pluralistic legacy, the TMC supremo said, “People of Murshidabad do not accept the politics of riots… Some people take money and serve the BJP before the elections. Remember, they are your enemies.”
“We cannot forget the history of Murshidabad. Siraj-ud-Daulah is revered in every home here. This district is the land of the nawabs, home to sacred places of all religions. The people of Murshidabad will not accept the politics of riots,” she said.
Mamata’s sharp attack against Kabir came soon after senior TMC leader Firhad Hakim announced his suspension from the party in Kolkata.
Kabir, who was at the venue of the chief minister’s rally in Bahrampur as news of his suspension poured in, called it a “deliberate humiliation” and reiterated that he would launch a new party and would field candidates in 135 seats in the upcoming Assembly elections.
The rebel MLA, who has moved between the Congress, TMC, and BJP before returning to the ruling party, insisted the December 6 foundation-laying event of the mosque at Beldanga would not be cancelled.
“Lakhs of people will attend. If the administration tries to stop us, NH-12 may be blocked,” he warned, adding that he might be “killed to silence him”.
“If prevented, I will sit on a dharna and get arrested,” he said, adding he has “full faith in the judiciary”.
“I will expose the chief minister and the TMC’s double standards on secular politics. They have been fooling minorities and have a tacit understanding with the RSS-BJP,” Kabir alleged.
While announcing his suspension, Hakim said, “Kabir was involved in communal politics, which the TMC is strictly against. He will have no relation with the party from this moment.”
Stressing that the TMC “does not believe in communal provocation” at a time it is working to maintain peace before next year’s Assembly polls, the senior TMC leader said, “Anyone can build a mosque. But there must be no communal provocation. The way religious sentiments are being stirred is unacceptable for a responsible political party.”
Hakim was referring to Kabir’s insistence on building the mosque in the run-up to the polls. On Wednesday, the TMC MLA from Bharatpur insisted that he would go ahead with his December 6 ‘shilanyas’ of a mosque modelled on the Babri Masjid in Murshidabad’s Beldanga area.
Kabir has been in open confrontation with his party for months. On Wednesday, he had said that his foundation-laying programme would go ahead “under constitutional rights” and could draw “lakhs” of people. “If the administration tries to stop us, the highway from Rejinagar to Beharampur will be blocked. My message is simple – don’t play with fire,” he had said.
Earlier, Governor CV Ananda Bose had expressed his apprehension over the building of the mosque. In a letter to the state government, he had flagged fears of a law-and-order disturbance in Murshidabad, which had witnessed violent protests and communal clashes earlier this year over the Centre’s new Waqf law.
The Murshidabad administration has not granted permission. District officials said a law-and-order review was underway.
Meanwhile, the BJP dismissed the suspension as “drama”, with state president Samik Bhattacharya saying Kabir had long made incendiary remarks without action from the TMC, which he alleged now wanted to “establish Babur’s rule” in Bengal.
With PTI