Firhad Hakim. File | Photo Credit: The Hindu
Under fire for his comment that Muslims would be in the majority, West Bengal Minister Firhad Hakim on Sunday (Dec 15, 2024) said he is a secular person and will be till death.
“I am a secular person and will die as a secular person,” Mr. Hakim, who is also the mayor of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, told reporters.
The Trinamool Congress leader’s statement comes after a video, in which he is heard saying that Muslims are not a minority and that with the grace of Allah, Muslims will become a majority, has sparked controversy. Mr. Hakim’s statement drew strong reactions not only from opposition parties but also from Trinamool Congress leaders.
Senior party leader Kunal Ghosh came to the party colleague’s side and said it was “misinterpreted and twisted” by opposition leaders.His comment. Mr. Ghosh said that Mr. Hakim was talking about the upliftment of Muslims so that they could join the mainstream of society.
Two Muslim leaders of the Trinamool Congress criticized Mr. Hakim. Former IPS officer and Debra MLA Humayun Kabir said that “quality should be given more importance than quantity”. Instead of raising five children to be rickshaw drivers, van drivers, vegetable sellers, fellers, migrant workers, hawkers, it is better to raise two children as teachers and doctors. Isn’t it good to be a police officer like me?” he said.
‘It is foolish to comment on such matters’
Humayun Kabir, another Trinamool Congress leader and MLA from Bharatpur, who goes by the same name, said Mr. Hakim should read the “Quran and Hadith”. “Which community is the majority and which is the minority depends on the will of Allah and commenting on such matters is the folly of one of Firhad Hakim and Humayun Kabir,” said the Bharatpur MLA.
Urban Affairs and Urban Development Minister Shri Hakeem made the controversial remarks while addressing minority students on Friday (December 13, 2024). “We come from such a community, that in West Bengal we are 33%, and across the country, we are only 17%, and we are called a minority community in India. But we consider ourselves a minority. But in the coming days, we will not be a minority. We have the grace of Allah and education. We believe that if we have it, we will become the majority,” he said in the video of the address.
While the BJP leadership accused the minister of making communal statements with a divisive agenda, Bharat Sevashram Sangh (BSS) senior monk Karthik Maharaj said that instead of emphasizing on the education and economic upliftment of Muslims, Mr. Hakeem talked about increasing their numbers, “which will aid and abet infiltration into the state.” “
‘Polarizing speech’
Mr. Hakim’s controversial comments come at a time when Hindutva groups are organizing protests in the state over reports of attacks on minorities in Bangladesh. Several monks and Hindutva groups organized a Bhagavad Gita recitation ceremony in Siliguri, North Bengal.
Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chaudhary said Hakim’s statement was appropriateAn attempt at polarization that the Trinamool and BJP are trying to create in the state as part of a “setting” between the two parties.
“Trinamool will polarize Muslim votes and BJP Hindu votes, and the political status quo will continue in West Bengal,” the Congress leader said. CPI(M) State Secretary Mohammad Salim said Mr. Firhad Hakim’s comments were an attempt to create “majorism”.
published – December 15, 2024 at 10:14 am IST