Bengal Minister’s ‘minority’ remarks create controversy

Kolkata, Dec 14 (IANS): West Bengal Minister for Municipal Affairs & Urban Development Firhad Hakim on Saturday compared the “majority” and “minority” communities in the country which created a controversy.

Addressing a programme at the state-run auditorium in Kolkata, on Saturday, Hakim said that the current “minority” in West Bengal might become “majority” in the coming days.

“In West Bengal, we are currently 33 per cent. Nationally we are 17 per cent. Hence we are addressed as minorities. But we do not consider ourselves as minorities. By the grace of God someday we might also become majorities. We will achieve this with the blessing of the almighty,” the minister said on Saturday.

BJP Information Technology cell chief and the party central observer for West Bengal Amit Malviya said that after revealing his true intentions by describing non-Muslims as “unfortunate” and endorsing Dawat-e-Islam’s efforts to convert Hindus to Islam, Hakim has now claimed that West Bengal and the rest of India will soon have a Muslim majority.

“Hakim envisions a future where Muslims will no longer rely on peaceful protests or marches but will take justice into their own hands—potentially hinting at Sharia law. This aligns with remarks from Trinamool Chopra MLA, who previously cited Islamic scriptures to justify an incident, where a woman was publicly whipped,” Malviya wrote on X.

West Bengal BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar also questioned why the other constituents of the opposition INDIA Bloc are silent and refraining from condemning such a statement by Firhad Hakim.

“This is not just a hate speech. This is a blueprint for creating a Bangladesh-like situation in India,” said Majumdar.

Trinamool Congress leader Kunal Ghosh, while speaking to IANS, refrained from making any comment on this issue saying that he is not aware of the contest in which Hakim said these.

“It will be unfair to isolate a particular portion of the speech and highlight it,” Ghosh said.