Kolkata: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday had condemned the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) Mayor Firhad Hakim for his comment that ‘people who are not born in Islam are unfortunate’.
BJP state president and union minister Sukanta Majumdar said that Hakim’s comment is an attack on religious freedom and equality.
“Firhad Hakim’s statement is highly condemnable. Suggesting that those not born as Muslims are born with misfortune and that converting to Islam is the way to please Allah is deeply offensive and divisive. Such remarks undermine the principles of religious freedom and equality,” said Majumdar.
Taking to X, BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya wrote, “he TMC's penchant for extreme appeasement politics in West Bengal is an open secret. The party’s relentless appeasement politics has paid off, as evident from the successive electoral victories and subsequent post poll violence, which have emboldened the TMC, making it more audacious and haughty than ever. The brazen act of publicly flogging a woman by TMC’s JCB in a manner akin to Sharia Court punishment and the reprehensible defense by TMC’s Chopra MLA, Hamidur Rahman, asserting such actions are typical in a ‘Muslim Rashtra,’ have already incited a political maelstrom and bears the testament to the TMC’s ‘underlying agenda.”
Notably, after a Trinamool Congress (TMC) worker was seen beating a woman and a man for allegedly getting involved in extra marital affair, TMC MLA Hamidur Rahman mentioned that the action was taken as per ‘Muslim Rashtra’. Rahman’s comment also sparked controversy.
Incidentally, Hakim at ‘All India Quran Competition’ had also called out people to get converted in Islam.
“Those who are not born in Islam are unfortunate! They are born with misfortune. It feels good to see thousands of people wearing skull caps sitting together. This shows the unity of Islam. Dawat-e-Islam for everyone,” Hakim was heard saying.