No one will be allowed to build Babri Masjid in Bengal: Amit Shah
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Malda: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday asserted that the BJP would not allow the construction of a Babri Masjid replica in West Bengal if it comes to power after the upcoming Assembly elections.
Addressing a rally in Gazole in Malda district, Shah said, “This is Bharat, and no man worth his salt can build a Babri Masjid here.” He was referring to Humayun Kabir, chief of the newly formed Aam Janata Unnayan Party, who is contesting against both the BJP and the Trinamool Congress in the state elections.
Shah also called Kabir an “agent” of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and alleged that he was acting on her “cues” regarding the proposed mosque project. Kabir was suspended from the Trinamool Congress in December last year after proposing the construction of a Babri-like mosque in Beldanga in Murshidabad district, which borders Malda.
The Union Minister further said Kabir should “listen carefully” and added that the BJP would not permit the mosque’s construction. He also claimed that Mamata Banerjee and her nephew would see their “dreams shattered” after May 5, speaking at a separate rally in Manikchak earlier in the day.
Polling in West Bengal will take place in two phases on April 23 and April 29, with counting scheduled for May 4.
Kabir had laid the foundation stone for the mosque on December 6 last year, marking the 33rd anniversary of the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya. The project, estimated at ₹86 crore, is being constructed on around eight acres of private land and has triggered significant political controversy in the state.
On Monday, Shah, while addressing rallies in Birbhum and Paschim Bardhaman, alleged that Mamata Banerjee and Kabir were “two of a kind”. At a rally in Raniganj’s coal belt, he also accused Banerjee of opposing the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya and linked her stance to Kabir’s mosque initiative.
He further alleged that several opposition parties, including the Congress, TMC, DMK, Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party, had earlier opposed the construction of the Ram temple. Shah said that after the BJP’s 2019 mandate, the Ram temple was built in Ayodhya despite opposition.
The BJP leader also used the opportunity to counter allegations made by Mamata Banerjee regarding a purported viral video in which Kabir allegedly claimed contacts with BJP leaders and spoke of a Rs 200 crore advance in a Rs 1,000 crore deal to split minority votes. The authenticity of the video could not be independently verified by PTI.
Banerjee had earlier alleged that the BJP had struck a Rs 1,000 crore deal with Kabir to weaken the Trinamool Congress.
In response, Shah said the BJP would “rather sit in opposition for 20 years” than ally with Kabir, calling their ideologies completely opposed.
With PTI inputs