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Influential Imam Slams Mamata For Durga Puja Grant, Says She Will Lose Power If She Doesn’t Treat Muslims Properly
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee (Arijit Sen/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)
Pirzada Taha Siddiqui of Furfura Sahri, a powerful Kolkata Imam, has given heavy flak to Mamata Banerjee’s government for allotting money for the Durga Puja.
Speaking from Tipu Sultan Masjid of Kolkata, he criticised Banerjee in front of hundreds of Muslim youth who had taken out an illegal rally in defiance of Banerjee’s decision to fund the Durga Puja.
Justifying the rally, he said they had come to voice demands. All Bengal Minorities Youth Federation general secretary Kamarujjaman also addressed the youth, saying, “India is a secular country. A government should not sponsor a religious programme.”
“I’ve no problem if Mamata’s government grants money for Durga puja. But the government should do that for other communities too”, Siddiqui said. He mentioned the Bengal government’s doles to imams and muezzins, by saying that Bengal government is giving the honorariums from Wakf Board money and demanded more stipends from State Treasury as well, reports Times Of India.
He warned that Bengal government would fare just like the left front’s way if it treats Muslims ham-handedly. “There are four crore Muslims in West Bengal. Mamata should not forget that we can always resurrect the Congress or the CPI(M) from their graves as the secular alternative in West Bengal," Siddiqui reports India Today.
Also read: Politics Of Appeasement Boomerangs In Bengal
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