West Bengal: Suspended TMC MLA Humayun Kabir lays ‘Babri Masjid’ foundation stone in Murshidabad

Suspended Trinamool Congress MLA Humayun Kabir on Saturday laid the foundation stone for a Babri Masjid-like mosque at Beldanga in West Bengal's Murshidabad, 33 years after the mosque was demolished in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya, The Indian Express reported.

The Babri Masjid in Ayodhya was demolished on December 6, 1992, by Hindu extremists because they believed that it stood on the spot on which the deity Ram had been born. On January 22, 2024, the Ram temple was inaugurated at the site in a ceremony led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

On Saturday, thousands gathered in Murshidabad for the laying of the foundation stone, where Kabir was joined by imams from different parts of the country, The Hindu reported. Many in the crowd carried bricks for the construction of the mosque.

Kabir said he viewed the mosque's construction as a “prestige battle for Muslims” and said the proposed complex would include a 300-bed hospital, a hotel, a helipad and a school, at an estimated cost of Rs 300 crore.

The Trinamool Congress, the ruling party in West Bengal, had suspended Kabir on Thursday after he claimed that he would “build a Babri Masjid” in Murshidabad district

The party claimed that Kabir's remarks were made with the intention of fuelling communal tensions. It alleged that he was being encouraged by the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Kabir, on his part, accused Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of being arrogant and failing to support the state's minority communities, The Indian Express reported.

“What did the minorities get by making her CM?” he asked.

He has also announced his intention to launch a new political party on December 22 ahead of the state's Assembly polls, The Indian Express reported.

He said he would field candidates across a large number of Assembly seats with significant Muslim electorates, contending that representation for the community had fallen in successive elections.

West Bengal is expected to head for Assembly elections in the first half of 2026.

A day before the event, the Calcutta High Court had declined to intervene, noting that Kabir could proceed as long as law and order were maintained, The Indian Express reported.

The police had assured the court that adequate security arrangements were in place, and more than 3,000 personnel were deployed in the area on the day of the ceremony.

On the same day, Banerjee marked the day as “harmony day” on social media and said Bengal's traditions were rooted in unity and rejected attempts to stoke communal tensions.

Bharatiya Janata Party leaders criticised the event, with the party's state president Samik Bhattacharya claiming Kabir was “acting on a script prepared by Mamata Banerjee”, The Hindu reported.

Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari described the move as a dangerous precedent.

Meanwhile, BJP leader Sakharov Sarkar held a prayer to begin the construction of a planned replica of the Ayodhya Ram temple in the state's Berhampore, ANI reported.

He also placed a holy stone to mark the official start of the project.

Sarkar also claimed that the temple “will be very huge and will also include a hospital and a school”, the news agency reported.

Source: Scroll
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