Murshidabad : West Bengal braces for a politically fraught Saturday as suspended TMC MLA Humayun Kabir pushes ahead with the foundation-laying ceremony for a ‘Babri Masjid-style’ mosque in Murshidabad. The Beldanga site, where Kabir claimed “three lakh people” would assemble, has been sealed into a high-security grid, with deployment of RAF, district police, and central forces on both sides of the National Highway 12, after the Calcutta High Court declined to halt the event but placed full responsibility for public order on the state government.
For the Trinamool Congress (TMC)- which has distanced itself after suspending Kabir- the optics of the foundation-laying ceremony for the mosque on December 6, the anniversary of Ayodhya’s Babri Masjid demolition, carry risks it has sought to pre-empt. The run-up to the proposed event has forced the administration to arrange for expansive security cover. RAF teams arrived in Rejinagar on Friday and were stationed at a local school ahead of deployment, while the district police – acting on a Calcutta High Court directive to ensure law and order.
On Friday, the high court, hearing a petition seeking to halt the event, declined to intervene and placed the onus of maintaining public order on the state government, a cue that prompted the police to talk with Kabir’s team via backchannel on Friday night. Governor C V Ananda Bose, meanwhile, urged citizens not to be swayed by provocative statements and rumours and asked the state to ensure there was no disturbance anywhere.
Nearly 3,000 volunteers – 2,000 of whom began work early Friday – have been tasked with regulating access roads, preventing bottlenecks and keeping the national highway running. Seven Murshidabad-based catering agencies have been contracted to prepare shahi biryani, with an estimated 40,000 packets for guests and another 20,000 for residents. The day’s programme, circulated by organisers, lists Quran recitation at 10 am, the foundation ceremony at noon, a community meal at 2 pm, and dispersal by 4 pm as per police instructions.
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