KOLKATA: The construction of a controversial ‘Babri Masjid’ initiated by Humayun Kabir, suspended Trinamool Congress MLA and chairman of the newly formed Janata Unnayan Party (JUP), at Beldanga in Murshidabad district on Wednesday has intensified religious politics ahead of the upcoming assembly elections in West Bengal.
Hours after the suspended legislator from Bharatpur constituency laid the foundation for the mosque in the presence of over 5,000 people and religious leaders, mainly from the minority community, at Rejinagar-Beldanga, an organisation lodged an FIR with Maidan police station in Kolkata demanding his arrest for allegedly inciting communal tension.
Hazrat Mohammad Pervez Siddiqui, representing the organisation, filed the complaint alleging that an atmosphere of violence is being stoked in the state in the name of the ‘Babri Masjid’. “The mosque could have been built under another name, but not using the Babri Masjid title,” Siddiqui said.
The complaint also cited the nationwide violence associated with the Babri Masjid issue in the past and stated that there was no need to escalate tensions again by constructing another mosque with the same name.
“The foundation stone was laid on 6 December 2025 despite opposition and hostility. Allah is pleased and has accepted it, which is why we could proceed. The Babri Masjid is a historic step for the country,” Humayun Kabir told the media.
The mosque, which has received funding from various regions including Bangladesh and the Middle East, is expected to be completed in two years on an 11-acre site. The main gate is planned to be 46 feet tall and five metres wide. The first-floor prayer hall and underground area will have the capacity to accommodate 12,000 worshippers.
“There is no force that can prevent us from establishing the ‘Babri Masjid’. Allah is ready. To please Allah, the Muslim community will act with tolerance and without hurting any other religion,” Kabir added.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) termed the move “illegal and improper”, claiming, “It is happening in Mamata’s land as part of appeasement politics.”
The Trinamool Congress (TMC), however, distanced itself from Kabir when he proceeded with the foundation-laying ceremony on 6 December 2025 and subsequently expelled him from the party. The BJP has referred to Kabir as the “B-Team of TMC”, a claim the TMC denies.
Since launching his own JUP in January, Kabir is emerging as a potential game-changer in the assembly elections, fielding party candidates in 135 constituencies.