TMC MLA vows to lay Babri Masjid foundation stone on Dec 6, warns of highway takeover if obstructed

Murshidabad (The Uttam Hindu): Politics in West Bengal has once again come to a boil. Rebel MLA Humayun Kabir of the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) has issued an open challenge to the administration, announcing that he will lay the foundation stone of a mosque similar to the Babri Masjid in Murshidabad district on December 6th. He warned that if the administration tries to stop him, National Highway 34 (NH-34) will be "taken over by Muslims" that day. Kabir's statement has raised the political temperature in the state, especially with assembly elections scheduled for early next year.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Beldanga MLA Kabir leveled serious allegations against the Murshidabad district administration. Calling the officials "RSS agents," he said that any attempt to stop his program would be like "playing with fire." Taking a sharp stance, Kabir asked, "I announced the laying of the foundation stone of the Babri Masjid in Beldanga a year ago. Why are you having a problem now? Are you acting on the BJP's orders?" He clearly stated that he did not want to disturb the peace, but if his peaceful program was disrupted, he was ready to respond and that NH-34 would be under his control.

Trinamool Congress has immediately distanced itself from the MLA's inflammatory statement. Party MP Kalyan Banerjee dismissed Kabir's political importance, saying that the people of West Bengal trust only Mamata Banerjee and that people like Kabir have no importance. Meanwhile, party chief whip Nirmal Ghosh clarified that Trinamool is not in contact with Kabir and does not support any of his actions. It is noteworthy that Humayun Kabir has been adopting a rebellious stance against the party leadership for the past several months and recently expressed his intention to form a new organization.

Opposition parties have begun to corner the Mamata Banerjee government over Kabir's statement. BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya alleged that the Trinamool Congress is deliberately pushing Bengal towards anarchy and that such statements are being made with the aim of communal polarization. Meanwhile, the CPI(M) called it an example of Trinamool's "ideological instability." CPI(M) leader Saikat Giri sarcastically said that Kabir was in the BJP until 2019 and now, after becoming a TMC MLA, is calling the administration an agent of the RSS. State minister Siddiqullah Chowdhury also warned that a "dangerous emotional atmosphere" is being deliberately created in Bengal.