- West Bengal Chief Minister emphasised national security over mosque entry at Kolkata airport area
- Gauripur Jama Masjid located near airport runway poses operational and security challenges
- Ex-Trinamool MLA Siddiqullah Chowdhury said there was no need to suspend namaz at the mosque
National security is supreme, West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari underlined, as his government firmed up its stand on the emerging controversy over the suspension of entry passes for congregational prayers at a mosque inside Kolkata airport.
The 136-year-old Gauripur Jama Masjid, also known as the 'Bankra Masjid', is located within Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International airport. There has been talk of relocating the mosque for a long time. Dum Dum Airport has two runways - the main runway is used for takeoffs and landings, while the second runway is smaller. The mosque is located at a short distance from that runway.
Experts say that if the first runway is temporarily closed for maintenance, there will be problems with large aircraft taking off and landing. Airport officials said that the mosque also poses a risk to aircraft taking off and landing, and that work on expanding the second runway has also been stalled.
Since Saturday, the airport has stopped issuing entry passes for entry through the airport gate, and prayers have also been stopped in the mosque. It is reported that police and security guards have also been deployed to maintain social harmony.
"National security and security of the airport will gain priority over everything else. As a chief minister, I will not comment further. The location of Kolkata International airport is critical since both China and Bangladesh are close by. It cannot keep its gates open for outsiders," Adhikari said on Sunday.
"We have not stopped anyone from practising their religion, unlike what they (the opposition) said about us. Bakrid (Eid al-Adha) was observed adhering to animal slaughter laws, Muharram was observed without brandishing weapons, and there was no problem. Obey the law and act as good citizens. Observe your religions as a personal matter, without trying to influence others. Then everything will run smoothly," the Chief Minister added.
Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar also backed the Chief Minister.
"Ever since I was a student, I used to read in the newspaper that due to a mosque at Kolkata airport, the runway cannot be constructed and no previous government interfered due to appeasement politics... Now that our government is in power, we don't believe in appeasement politics. The mosque will be relocated," the Union Minister said.
Sourav Sikdar, BJP's MLA from Dum Dum Uttar under whose assembly segment the airport falls, alleged that the mosque's presence within the airport complex has affected the full operational use of the two runways and raised security concerns.
He claimed that people visiting it for prayers do not require airport passes or background verification.
"An airport is a secured area. Any person entering the airport has to obtain a biometric pass with a photograph. This mosque is located in the highest-security area, known as Level 3," he said.
Sikdar said the airport handles the movement of VVIPs, including the prime minister and chief minister, besides lakhs of passengers every month.
The legislator said his party had raised the issue with the authorities, claiming that the existing arrangement posed a potential security concern.
Siddiqullah Chowdhury, president of the mosque committee and a former minister in the previous Mamata Banerjee cabinet, opposed the suspension of prayers, pointing out that the mosque has stood for over 136 years. He argued that entries for 'namaz' should not have been stopped while ongoing discussions with airport and government authorities regarding the site were underway.
"The mosque has been there for more than 136 years, and there is an ongoing discussion on this issue. We are open to any amicable solution, and there was no need to stop entries for namaz," Chowdhury told news agency PTI.
Bengal Minister Dilip Ghosh said the mosque had "deliberately" been allowed within the runway area.
"There was no justification for the mosque being located where it was. It had been deliberately allowed to remain within the runway area. Prayers have now been stopped there as well. I believe they will vacate the site so that the runway extension work can proceed smoothly," Ghosh said.
