- Suspended MLA Humayun Kabir will lay foundation of Babri Masjid-style mosque in Beldanga today
- Event starts with Quran recitation at 10 am, followed by stone-laying ceremony at noon
- BJP condemns plan; leader Arjun Singh warns Kabir against building Babri mosque replica
Suspended Trinamool Congress MLA Humayun Kabir will lay the foundation stone of a 'Babri Masjid-style' mosque at Beldanga in West Bengal's Murshidabad today, sparking a row.
According to Kabir, the event will begin at 10 am with Quran recitation, followed by the foundation stone-laying ceremony at noon. This comes after the police administration allowed the suspended MLA to "peacefully" conduct the event after the Calcutta High Court refused to intervene. Many Saudi clerics are expected to attend the ceremony. Kabir also said that "nearly 3 lakh people will gather across 25 bighas near Moradighi on Saturday", adding that religious leaders from several states had confirmed their presence, and seven Murshidabad-based catering agencies have been contracted to cook 'shahi biryani' for the crowd.
A close aide of the MLA said about 40,000 packets were being made for guests and another 20,000 for residents, pushing food expenses alone past Rs 30 lakh. Nearly 3,000 volunteers have been deployed to manage crowd movement, regulate access roads and prevent bottlenecks on NH-12, organisers said.
The event, however, has sparked a strong response from the BJP.
BJP leader Arjun Singh warned Kabir that he would "send him to Babur" if the legislator went ahead with his plan to lay the foundation stone of a Babri mosque replica. "If Kabir tries to build a Babri Masjid here, I will send him to Babur (Mughal emperor). There will be no foundation-laying ceremony. It is all drama," he said.
Asserting that India is a "Hindu-majority nation", Singh said, "One can build a mosque, but using the name of 'Babri' insults the Constitution."
Kabir had revealed his plan to lay the foundation stone of a Babri mosque in Beldanga on December 6 - the day of its demolition. The Trinamool distanced itself from the event and suspended Kabir from the party earlier this week, with party leader and Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim saying the MLA had been "warned" about his statements previously.
"We noticed that one of our MLAs from Murshidabad suddenly declared that he would build the Babri masjid. Why suddenly Babri masjid? We already warned him. We believe in secular theory. As per the decision of our party, we are suspending MLA Humayun Kabir," the mayor said.
A defiant Kabir then announced that he would resign as MLA, launch his own party later this month, and press ahead with building a replica of the Babri mosque.
"Trinamool and its leaders will realise the pain for suspending me in the near future. I will tender my resignation from the MLA post on December 17. I will form my own party on December 22. Our party will file its candidates in 135 seats out of 294 seats in the assembly election," he said.
