Kolkata | Two NCPI MPs from West Bengal's Murshidabad district on Saturday urged Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari to stop removing mosque loudspeakers, alleging police acted "overenthusiastically" on the matter, and sought his intervention to expedite hearings of around 27 lakh people excluded from electoral rolls during SIR.
The meeting with the chief minister at the secretariat here came a day after the MPs -- Murshidabad seat's Abu Taher Khan and Jangipur's Khalilur Rehman -- attended a breakfast meeting hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for parliamentarians of several alliance partners in the national capital.
Talking to reporters, Khan alleged that Muslims were being targeted in the state over the loudspeaker issue and said the rules should apply to all religious communities.
"Removing loudspeakers from mosques is extremely unfortunate and painful for us. Removing microphones used for azaan in mosques is unprecedented since Independence. Muslims are being targeted in Bengal. We have urged the government to put a stop to it," Khan said.
While asserting that the court's directions to curb noise pollution must be followed, Khan said they had been told by the chief minister that around 3,800 microphones had been removed, including from nearly 1,200 temples.
"We have requested the government to ensure that such incidents do not recur. We will follow Supreme Court and high court guidelines. But microphones should not be removed from mosques. There should be no problem in offering namaz. We have made all these requests to the chief minister," Khan said.
The Murshidabad MP also said that Muslims should not be singled out.
Alleging that the state police acted "overenthusiastically" in removing loudspeakers from mosques, Khan said, "Law should be equally applicable to all religions. We want harmony among all faiths. We have appealed to the CM to stop the removal of loudspeakers from mosques, and he responded that he would look into the issue..
Khan alleged that in some cases police had forced mosque authorities to remove microphones without any government directive. "The police did not give time to remove microphones from mosques. They were overenthusiastic..
He further said the issue had also been raised with Union Home Minister Amit Shah two days ago.
On the SIR issue, the two MPs sought Adhikari's intervention to ensure early hearings in cases pending before tribunals.
"A large number of genuine voters whose names have been deleted from the electoral rolls are awaiting tribunal decisions. The delay is causing difficulties in passport verification, land registration and access to government welfare schemes. We requested the state government to fast-track the hearings and complete them by December 31," Khan said.
He said the chief minister had informed them that of the around 27 lakh people whose names were excluded, nearly seven lakh had applied for hearings while the remaining 20 lakh had not.
"We told the chief minister that many of them are people who do not properly understand the paperwork, working people. They are genuine voters. We want all their names to be restored. These people are being unnecessarily harassed. There are spelling mistakes and errors in letters.
"It is because of such errors that the names of 27 lakh people have been excluded. They are not getting government benefits," the Murshidabad MP said.
He also claimed that Adhikari had assured them that arrangements would be made for early hearings of the seven lakh appeals.
"We have also told the chief minister that hearings should be held on a larger scale, even at the block level. He has assured us that the government will make every effort in that direction," Khan added.
Kolkata | NCPI MPs Abu Taher and Khalilur Rahaman on Saturday refuted insinuations about joining the BJP, maintaining that Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla continues to recognise them as parliamentarians of the Trinamool Congress.
They are among 20 rebel TMC MPs who parted ways with the Mamata Banerjee-led party to merge with the lesser-known Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) weeks after the West Bengal Assembly election.
However, Birla is yet to formally recognise them as NCPI MPs.
A day after MPs Khalilur Rahaman, Yusuf Pathan and Abu Taher Khan attended a breakfast meeting hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for MPs of several alliance partners, Rahaman and Khan refused to divulge their political plans. The trio had maintained that they were not part of the NDA.
Taher and Rahaman met with West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari at the state secretariat here on Saturday.
Interacting with reporters later, Taher said, "The Lok Sabha Speaker is still addressing us as All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) MPs. When we speak in Parliament, AITC is mentioned alongside our names..
On whether they would continue with the party in the future or choose another political path, Khan replied, "Only time will tell.".
Asked specifically whether they were joining the BJP, Khan ruled it out. "No, we are not joining the BJP. We will remain with the NCPI," he said.
Taher, along with fellow NCPI MPs Khalilur Rahaman and Yusuf Pathan, met Amit Shah on Thursday and submitted a memorandum highlighting concerns over reported restrictions on the use of loudspeakers in mosques and alleged deletion of genuine voters following the recent Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in West Bengal.
