Murshidabad, 7 December (H.S.): Amidst controversy, Bharatpur MLA Humayun Kabir took a U-turn just 24 hours after laying the foundation stone of a 'Babri' mosque in his district. On Sunday, he announced that he would not resign from his MLA post. He cited that the people of Bharatpur want him to continue as their MLA and that they had prevented him from resigning.

Humayun Kabir said that in deference to the wishes of the people, he has decided to withdraw his resignation.

Following differences with the party, Humayun Kabir had clearly stated on November 17 that he would resign from his position as MLA of Bharatpur and would submit his resignation to the Speaker of the Assembly as per rules. Several developments followed. After the announcement of laying the foundation stone of the Babri mosque in Murshidabad district, the Trinamool Congress suspended Humayun Kabir for life on December 3 for anti-party activities. Despite this, Humayun laid the foundation stone of the Babri mosque in Beldanga on December 6, on Solidarity Day. And immediately after that, the Bharatpur MLA completely reversed his stance.

Until now, he had been saying that he would leave the MLA post. After visiting Rejinagar on Sunday and inspecting the area where the foundation stone of the Babri mosque was laid, Humayun Kabir said that he would not leave the MLA post. He said that the people of Bharatpur are asking him to continue as their MLA. They need an MLA for various development works. Therefore, in the interest of the people, he has decided not to leave the MLA post. Now, Humayun's statement has sparked intense discussion in the political circles of the district.

On Sunday, challenging the program of reciting the Gita by five lakh people organized by the RSS-affiliated Sanatan Sanskriti Parishad at Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata, Humayun Kabir announced that before January 26, there would be a recitation of the Quran by millions of people in Murshidabad. Trinamool's state general secretary, Kunal Ghosh, reacted sharply to this announcement. He said that the Gita is in our hearts, it is our ideal. We are not against reciting the Gita. But we are opposing those who are using the Gita for political purposes. On the other hand, Humayun Kabir has also indulged in venomous communal polarization in the name of the Babri Masjid and has tried to tarnish the party's image. We strongly condemn this.

This entire episode has brought a new twist to the politics of Murshidabad, and it will be interesting to see what its consequences will be in the coming days.

---------------

Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey