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Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Shatrughan Sinha on Saturday accused the BJP of repeatedly using religion to provoke voters, while praising West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's leadership and popularity across the state.
His remarks come after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of deliberately fuelling religious polarisation in the state by allowing suspended TMC MLA Humayun Kabir to polarise Muslims, after he laid the foundation stone for the construction of Babri Masjid in Murshidabad, earlier today. Reacting to this, Sinha said, "I am a person who believes in sarvadharma sambhav... Asansol is a city of brotherhood... People from every province live together here." Launching a sharp political attack, Sinha added, "They (BJP) have a very good issue that they can bring up whenever they want, like talking about religion and inciting people. Mamata Banerjee is a very popular and powerful leader. The BJP has tried very hard to defeat Mamata Banerjee." In North 24 Parganas, TMC MLA Nirmal Ghosh, speaking on the same issue, said that the Chief Minister governs with equal regard for all communities. "The CM of Bengal is for every religion. The people are with Mamata Banerjee, you can see that in 2026." Earlier today, suspended TMC MLA Humayun Kabir laid the foundation stone for the construction of Babri Masjid in Murshidabad. He drew attention to the constitutional right to build places of worship and said that he is not doing anything unconstitutional, "as anyone can make a temple or church, so can I". Clause (a) of Article 26 in the Indian Constitution grants every religious denomination the fundamental right "to establish and maintain institutions for religious and charitable purposes". This is subject to public order, morality and health. Addressing the gathering in Murshidabad, Kabir said, "I am not doing anything unconstitutional. Anyone can build a temple, anyone can build a church; I will build a mosque. It is being said that we cannot build the Babri Masjid. It is not written anywhere. The Supreme Court gave a judgment which stated that the Hindu people had demolished the Babri Masjid. Considering the sentiments of Hindus, the decision was taken to build a temple here. Now we see someone laying the foundation stone for a Ram Temple in Sagardighi. But the Constitution allows us to build a mosque." After TMC suspended him, Kabir said that he might announce his own party on December 22. (ANI)
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