KOLKATA — A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed in the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday seeking a direction to stop the construction of a Babri Masjid-styled mosque in Murshidabad district by suspended Trinamool Congress leader and Bharatpur MLA Humayun Kabir.
The PIL has been filed before the bench of the Calcutta High Court’s acting Chief Justice Sujoy Paul. The petition was admitted and the matter is likely to be heard next week.
According to the petitioner, the name Babri Masjid is related to the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi dispute in Ayodhya.
As a result, the atmosphere of communal harmony in the state may be disrupted and social unrest may arise if the mosque is built. Besides, the petitioner also raised questions on how suspended Trinamool Congress leader Humayun Kabir, who is also an MLA, is carrying out this construction work without the permission of the district administration.
The petitioner claimed the Trinamool MLA’s action will violate the fundamental rights provided in Articles 14, 21 and 25 of the Constitution. Therefore, the court should immediately order a stay on the construction of this mosque.
It may be noted that for the last one week, a controversy has erupted over Kabir’s decision to lay the foundation stone of a Babri Masjid-style mosque in Murshidabad district’s Beldanga.
On December 4, the Trinamool Congress leadership suspended Kabir from the party for anti-party activities.
Despite his suspension, Kabir went ahead with his programme on December 6 and laid the foundation stone for the mosque.
Humayun Kabir said that the construction of the Babri Masjid will start in the first week of February in Beldanga. Quran will be recited by one lakh voices a day before the construction of the mosque begins.
Notably, on December 4, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee asserted that the people of Murshidabad will never accept “politics of riots”. Her remarks came hours after her party, the Trinamool Congress, suspended Kabir for allegedly pursuing communal politics over his plan to lay the foundation of a mosque on the lines of the demolished Babri Masjid in the state’s Murshidabad district.
Addressing a public meeting in Berhampore in Murshidabad district, CM Banerjee said: “Trinamool Congress does not practise communal politics and is firmly against it. We cannot forget the history of Murshidabad. Siraj-ud-Daulah is revered in every home here. This district is the land of the Nawabs. It has holy places of all religions. People remember Siraj. The people of Murshidabad will not accept the politics of riots.” — IANS
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