'Completely Unacceptable': Fears Of Hindu Consolidation In Bengal Prompted Mamata Banerjee To Reprimand Firhad Hakim

Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has delivered a rare admonishment to her senior colleague and trusted aide Firhad Hakim over his Muslim majoritarian remarks. 

Banerjee, senior Trinamool leaders told Swarajya, spoke to Hakim Monday (December 16) morning and told him that the remarks he made were “completely unacceptable”. 

When Hakim, who holds the important portfolios of urban development and municipal affairs apart from being the Mayor of Kolkata, tried to tell Banerjee that his comments were taken out of context and misrepresented, she cut him short and asked him not to embarrass himself. 

The chief minister also told Hakim that he had made objectionable remarks in the past and that such remarks had put the government and the party in an embarrassing spot. 

Banerjee told Hakim that in future, he should be careful about what he says. Banerjee told Hakim that she would not accept any more loose remarks from him. 

It is learnt that Hakim apologised and promised to be circumspect in his actions and utterances in future. 

But it is not what Firhad said at an event last Friday (December 13) that upset Mamata Banerjee. Trinamool leaders hinted that it is the fallout of the remarks that have roiled the chief minister. 

Hakim had said that Muslims form 33 per cent of the population of Bengal and 17 per cent of India’s population. “But with Allah’s blessings and talim (knowledge), we can become the majority in this country,” he said. 

Hakim said that once Muslims become the majority, they will deliver justice in the country. “We see that whenever something happens, Muslims take out candlelight processions with ‘we want justice’ slogans. But taking out processions demanding justice will not work. We have to achieve the status where we will no longer demand justice, but mete out justice,” he said. 

The BJP quickly pounced on Hakim’s communal statements threatening to change the country’s demography with allegations that he was advocating Ghazwa-e-Hind, or the Islamic conquest of India to make it a part of an Islamic caliphate which is ruled by Islamic law (sharia). 

BJP leaders made a lot of noise about Hakim’s statement and shared video clips of his speech on social media. Those attracted tens of thousands of views, shares and comments. 

BJP’s co-in charge of Bengal and head of its national IT department, Amit Malviya, was the first to post a video of Hakim’s speech Saturday (December 14) afternoon. Other senior BJP leaders shared the post and triggered a social media storm. 

By Sunday, videos of Hakim’s speech, as well as his earlier offensive speeches calling non-Muslims ‘blighted’ and asking Muslims to convert them to Islam, went viral and resulted in a strong backlash against the Trinamool Congress. 

The chief minister, who is also the Trinamool Congress chairperson, was alerted by the party’s IT and media cells about the backlash against the party caused by Hakim’s speech. 

Senior Trinamool leaders, including at least three cabinet ministers and a few Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs, also spoke to Mamata Banerjee about the negative fallout of Hakim’s comments. 

“Didi (Mamata Banerjee) was told that fears of a demographic change that turns Bengal into a Muslim-majority state have caused consternation even amongst Trinamool supporters and the ‘liberal’ sections of society. There is the strong possibility of such statements and prospects resulting in a Hindu consolidation. Didi was briefed in detail about this,” a senior cabinet minister who also holds an important organisational post told Swarajya. 

Mamata Banerjee received a number of calls in this regard from her ministers and party colleagues Saturday evening and throughout Sunday. 

The chief minister also cross-checked the feedback on Hakim’s remarks she was receiving from her party leaders with the state intelligence agencies. 

What she heard alarmed her. She was told by a top police officer who handles intelligence that Hakim’s speech had caused consternation among many Hindus. More so since his earlier remarks terming non-Muslims as ‘blighted’ and calling on Muslims to convert them to Islam had not elicited any rebuke or retort from the party. 

“Many Hindus have started believing that Hakim’s statements are being silently endorsed by the party. That has upset even the liberal and secular Hindus. The prospect of a Hindu consolidation is real,” the top police officer is learnt to have told the chief minister. 

A Hindu consolidation in Bengal is Mamata Banerjee’s worst nightmare. She depends on a fractured Hindu electorate, and a united Muslim vote bank, to keep her in power. 

Muslims, at least officially, constitute about 30 per cent of Bengal’s population. More than 80 per cent of them are estimated to vote for the Trinamool Congress. Mamata Banerjee needs just a fraction of Hindu votes to win elections. 

If Hindus consolidate against the Trinamool, that could spell the end of Mamata Banerjee’s reign. And she is, expectedly, scared of such a scenario. 

That is why she called up Hakim Monday morning and admonished him. She also warned him against making any such statements in future. 

For good measure, the Trinamool also posted its disapproval of Hakim’s remarks on social media late Monday (December 16) afternoon. 

The post read: “The All India Trinamool Congress firmly disassociates itself from and strongly condemns the statement made by Shri Firhad Hakim, MIC GoWB, at an event day before yesterday. These comments do not reflect the party’s position or ideology. Our commitment to peace, unity, and communal harmony remains unwavering. Any remarks that threaten the social fabric of West Bengal will be met with strict measures”. 

It is rare for the party to deliver such a public rebuke, and a warning, to a senior minister. 

The Trinamool Congress did so not because of its principles or any lofty reason, but only because it feared that Hakim’s utterances could trigger the start of a consolidation of Hindu votes against the Trinamool. 

It's her survival instincts, and not any principled opposition to what Hakim said, that led Mamata Banerjee to rebuke and warn him. 

Also read:

--What we know about Bengal minister Firhad Hakim, who says Muslims must become a majority to 'deliver justice'

--"Pure venom", says BJP as controversy erupts over Kolkata mayor Firhad Hakim's 'Muslim majority' remarks

--Senior Bengal Minister’s open call to convert non-Muslims to Islam is deeply problematic

--The hypocritical silence of Bengal’s politicians, media and civil society on Firhad Hakim’s Islamism is deafening