Murshidabad: Suspended Trinamool Congress MLA Humayun Kabir on Saturday laid the foundation stone for a mosque modelled after the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, on the same day the Babri mosque was demolished 33 years ago.
Kabir completed the ceremony by cutting a ribbon alongside clerics on stage amid tight security. On Saturday morning, lakhs of people arrived at the venue carrying bricks for the construction of the mosque.
A video showing donations being collected from people at the venue for the construction of the Babri Masjid has surfaced. The video shows a pile of currency notes spread out on a carpet, with people throwing notes onto it, while the slogan “Nara-e-Takbir, Allahu Akbar” can be heard. A donation box with a UPI QR-code sticker on it is also visible.
Humayun Kabir had said on 25 November that he would lay the foundation stone of the Babri Masjid in Murshidabad district. The Trinamool Congress suspended Humayun Kabir from the party on 4 December.
More than 100 tractors loaded with construction material arrived at the mosque construction site from several districts on Saturday.
Notably, the Kolkata High Court on Friday refused to stay the mosque’s construction. The court ruled that the state government would be responsible for maintaining peace during the ceremony.
Addressing the crowd, Kabir referred to the demolished Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, calling it a historically controversial site. “There are four crore Muslims in Bengal. Don’t they have the right to build the Babri Masjid? Threats have been made against me, including by the former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh. If anyone has the courage, let them come here to Murshidabad and show it,” he said.
