VHP: Construction of Babri Masjid in Murshidabad no less than a challenge

Lucknow: A day after suspended Trinamool Congress MLA and Janata Unnayan Party chief Humayun Kabir initiated the construction of the controversial ‘Babri Majid' in Murshidabad district of West Bengal, VHP President Alok Kumar said on Thursday that the step was no less than "a challenge thrown at the entire Hindu community". "We gathered that the people behind the construction of the mosque said that if anyone opposing the so-called Babri masjid came to the site, he or she would be beheaded and they would play football with the head. Obviously, the intention is to create disharmony and hatred between the two communities and incite riots," Kumar said while speaking to TOI on Thursday. Kumar, nevertheless, noted that the suspension of Kabir from TMC meant that the understanding of the VHP and West Bengal CM and party chief Mamta Banerjee was "same". He said that the VHP made two appeals to the Mamata govt: first, register an FIR against those behind the construction of the Babri masjid; and second, persuade them not to name the mosque as such. "That's the extent we would like to go as of now," he said. Kabir laid the foundation stone of the mosque on Dec 6, last year, the anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition in Ayodhya. The estranged MLA described the new mosque as a "tribute to Muslim sentiment" and a constitutional right. The mosque, which reportedly received funding from various regions, including Bangladesh and the Middle East, is expected to be completed in two years on an 11-acre site in Beldanga in Murshidabad. A senior VHP functionary said that during the peak of the Ram Janambhoomi movement in the early 1990s, the seers took a resolve: "Mandir wahin, masjid nahin, Babri kahin nahin…". "And we would abide by their resolve," a senior VHP leader said, hinting that the construction of the Babri Mosque in Murshidabad would be opposed tooth and nail. As a matter of fact, the VHP also opposed the construction of the proposed new mosque in Ayodhya, stressing that the religious site may be developed "outside Ayodhya". However, the Supreme Court junked the VHP appeal. "We respect the Supreme Court judgement and accept it," Kumar said. Officially named the Mohammad Bin Abdullah Masjid, the planned mosque complex is located in Dhannipur village, approximately 25 km from the original Babri Masjid site. Following the 2019 Supreme Court verdict, the 5-acre site was allotted to the UP Sunni Central Waqf Board, with construction expected to commence around April this year. The project, managed by the Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation (IICF), is planned to include a hospital, library, and research centre.