TMC Suspended MLA Humayun Kabir
BERHAMPORE/KOLKATA: Trinamool suspended Thursday its MLA Humayun Kabir, who had earned the Bengal governing party’s ire by publicly declaring his plan to “lay the foundation of a Babri Masjid-style mosque in Murshidabad on Dec 6”.The belligerent MLA remained defiant despite getting the stick for “communal politics”, declaring he would go ahead with the mosque foundation plan and float his own party by Dec 22. Assembly elections in Bengal are due next year.Kabir was informed of his suspension when he went to attend a rally of CM Mamata Banerjee in Berhampore. At the rally, Mamata expressed anguish without naming Kabir. “If one grain of rice rots, it needs to be removed, otherwise the rest will spoil… There are some insects and pests. They will be there. But when we spot them, we remove them and continue with our work, our way. Hindus and Muslims will live in unity here,” Mamata said.Kolkata mayor and senior TMC minister Firhad Hakim formally announced Kabir’s suspension, saying the decision had been approved by the CM. “He will have no relation with the party from this moment. Anyone can build a mosque. But there must be no communal provocation,” Hakim said, stressing TMC “does not believe in communal provocation” at a time it is working to maintain peace before the polls.Kabir called his suspension “deliberate humiliation”, announcing he would press ahead with the mosque event in Murshidabad’s Beldanga even if that meant getting “arrested or killed” on Dec 6, marking the Babri demolition anniversary. He declared he would resign as Bharatpur MLA and launch his own party, adding it will contest 135 assembly seats (out of 294) next year.Kabir had moved between Congress, TMC and BJP before returning to the governing party. He is often seen in TMC as a “loose cannon”.(With agency inputs)
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