Calcutta HC declines to stop foundation of Babri-model Mosque

The Calcutta High Court (HC) on Friday refused to intervene in suspended Trinamool Congress (TMC) Humayun Kabir’s decision to lay the foundation stone of a mosque at Beldanga in Murshidabad district on Saturday. The Mosque is to be christened and modeled after the Babri Mosque at Ayodhya, which was demolished on December 6th, 33 years ago.

The Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Sujoy Paul, after hearing a public interest litigation seeking a stay on the foundation stone laying ceremony for the proposed mosque — as it could trigger a law and order situation — observed that it was the duty State Government to maintain law and order.

The petitioner in his draft pleaded that “the MLA (Kabir) has been using filthy and derogatory statements and hate speech against a community, which causes breach of public tranquility.

Such kind of statements and hate speech over social media, being a Member of Legislative Assembly, may break the communal harmony of our state as well as our country,” hence the petition sought to “stop foundation stone laying of Babri Masjid to maintain Law and order.”

Meanwhile, the suspended TMC MLA continued to fire salvos at his former outfit and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for committing “showing her true colours when it comes to the construction of constructing a mosque.”

A fuming Kabir who was on Thursday suspended from the party for making “irresponsible remarks and refusing to follow the party line” on Friday said “it is the same Chief Minister who has been constructing temples, organising carnivals during Durga Pujas encroaching Government land in Kolkata and granting Rs 1.10 lakh from public money to clubs organising Durga Pujas but when it comes to constructing a mosque and that too on a private land with private money she tries to stop me from laying the foundation stone of the mosque and suspends men, she has shown her true colours and the kind of secularism she practices, she has committed a big blunder and will have to pay high price in 2026 Assembly elections.”

Senior Congress leader and former MP Adhir Chowdhury too slammed the Chief Minister for opening the Pandora’s box “by constructing Jagannath Temple at Digha and preparing to construct Durga Temple and Mahakaal Temple out of Government funds, she has set the trend in order to project herself as a Hindutva champion so as to contain the BJP, now she will have to face the music.”

Bengal Opposition Leader Suvendu Adhikari, on the other hand, said that his party was not opposed to constructing any mosque but what bothered him was its name. “Anyone can construct a mosque, temple, Gurudwara or church but when you construct it in the name of a Moghul invader, every nationalistic person will object to it,” he said.

Meanwhile, the State police on Friday made a massive security bandobast in Murshidabad, particularly at Beldanga block, to preempt any law and order problem, sources in the State administration said.