No intervention in foundation stone-laying of Babri-style mosque in Murshidabad, says Cal HC
Kolkata (PTI): The Calcutta High Court on Friday refused to intervene in the construction of a mosque – modelled on Ayodhya’s Babri Masjid – at Beldanga in West Bengal's Murshidabad, proposed by suspended TMC MLA Humayun Kabir.
The court's observation comes ahead of the scheduled foundation-laying ceremony for the proposed 'Babri Masjid' on December 6, which also marks the anniversary of the demolition of the original sanctum.
The division bench of Acting Chief Justice Sujoy Paul, after hearing a PIL seeking a stay on the foundation stone laying ceremony for the proposed mosque, directed that the responsibility of maintenance of law and order would rest with the West Bengal government.
The PIL, which was filed on Thursday, sought the stay on grounds that the ceremony could disrupt communal harmony in the region.
The petitioner prayed that the court should take immediate action against Kabir’s provocative remarks that have allegedly disrupted communal harmony.
“The writ petition pertains to stop foundation stone laying of Babri Masjid in Beldanga Block 1, Murshidabad to maintain Law and order...The MLA 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 and You Tube news portal, being a Member of Legislative Assembly, may break the communal harmony of our state as well as our country,” the petition stated.
Kabir, who has hogged the limelight in the past with controversial statements on matters, including the party's internal affairs, was suspended by the Trinamool Congress on Thursday for indulging in what it termed “communal politics".
The suspended leader subsequently announced his decision to resign as MLA and launch his own party later this month.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
