In the context of court petitions claiming existence of ancient temples at the site of Shahi Jama Masjid in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal and the Ajmer Sharif Dargah in Rajasthan, Siddiqullah Chowdhury, a minister in Mamata Banerjee’s cabinet in West Bengal, called on the BJP to refrain from seeking temples everywhere.
Chowdhury, who serves as the minister for mass education extension and library services in West Bengal, emphasised that the Ajmer shrine of Sufi saint Moin-ud-din Chishti Khwaja Garib Nawaz was not constructed on encroached land.
During his interaction with the media at the Kolkata Press Club, Chowdhury also highlighted the Durgah Khawaja Saheb Act, 1955, enacted by the Government of India to make provision for the administration of the Ajmer Sharif Dargah.
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“Khwaja Garib Nawaz was not an occupant. He started a revolution of love in the Indian subcontinent and taught people co-existence,” Chowdhury, the president of West Bengal Jamiat-e-Ulama, told the media.
“You [the central government] cannot erase everything. The Centre must fulfil its responsibility and follow rajdharma as former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had asked the current prime minister.”
Chowdhury also referred to the violence in Sambhal, where four people were killed as protesters clashed with police during a survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid. The 75-year-old strongly criticised the incident, labelling it as "reprehensible" and accused Yogi Adityanath's government of being communal.
“How can the police start shooting? Are they above the law? All the responsible police officials must be arrested,” he said, while urging the common people to stay calm.
Chowdhury, the MLA from Mangalkot in Purba Bardhaman, addressed the situation in Bangladesh, condemning the attacks on Hindu minorities and the disrespect shown towards the Indian national flag.
However, he cautioned against using these incidents to incite communal tensions in India. Taking a dig at Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari and the BJP, who have staged multiple protests and threatened larger movements if the situation in Bangladesh remains unresolved, Chowdhury stressed on the need to avoid further polarization.
