A month after a Hindu outfit backed by local BJP leaders in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district announced the construction of a replica of the Ayodhya Ram Temple, efforts to go through with the plan have picked up pace.
A Trust for the construction of the temple was formed on Wednesday, with its president saying that the “bhoomi pujan” ceremony would be held on January 22, exactly a year since the temple in Ayodhya was consecrated. Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Humayun Kabir, whose comments about building a Babri Masjid in Murshidabad sparked the BJP and Hindu Right’s initial response about building the temple, meanwhile, said a Trust for the construction of the mosque would be set up in February.
These developments come two months after communal tension flared up in Beldanga in Murshidabad forcing the administration to impose prohibitory orders and an Internet ban. According to the 2011 Census, Muslims comprise 66.27% of the population in Murshidabad district, which borders Bangladesh.
“The ‘bhoomi pujan’ will take place on January 22. We have identified the land and will shortly finalise it. Villagers will donate about 28 to 30 bighas of land. However, we are not revealing the location right now. It will be a replica of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. Though the structure will be exactly like the one in Ayodhya, the idols will reflect Bengali culture. Unlike in Ayodhya, the idol of Sri Ram will be accompanied by idols of Sri Laxman and Sita Maa. An idol of Durga Maa will also be there,” Ambikananda Maharaj, the president of the Bongiyo Ram Sevak Parishad Charitable Trust told The Indian Express. BJP spokesperson Debjit Sarkar is one of the vice-presidents of the Trust.
“The temple will also showcase Bengali culture and tradition. It hurts when a section of people say Ram is not a Bengali god. We call on people of all castes and creeds to support us and visit the temple when the work is finished. We will also invite leaders of all political parties, be it Adhir Chowdhury or Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee,” he added.
The Trust’s secretary Dharmajit Debnath said, “There are many who are willing to share their land and funds for the temple. We do not think funds will be a problem for such a project. Things are at a preliminary and we are not in a position to announce a deadline for the temple project.”
Last month, BJP’s Murshidabad unit chief Shakharav Sarkar said the land for the temple had been surveyed, that it would be built for Rs 10 crore, and would be “inaugurated in two years”. His comments came after Humayun Kabir, the MLA from Bharatpur in Murshidabad, spoke about building the Babri Masjid.
Kabir told The Indian Express that the Trust for the construction of the mosque would be floated in February and the foundation stone would be laid on December 6, the day in 1992 when Hindu kar sevaks razed the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya. The Ayodhya temple has been built at the site where the mosque once stood.
“The Trust will be formed by February. It will be a 300-member body that will plan and implement the construction of the Babri Masjid. It will be a replica of the Babri Mosque but on a smaller scale. We have seen a 12-bigha land. The mosque will come up on six bighas and a small hospital with a guest house will be built on the rest of the land. We will lay the foundation stone on December 6 and the project is expected to be completed in three years, by 2029 (the time of the next Lok Sabha polls),” said Kabir, adding that the mosque would come up somewhere between Beldanga and Rejinagar.
Asked how the mosque would be funded, Kabir said, “Many people from across the districts are approaching me with donations. I will personally put in Rs 1 crore of my money after selling some land. I don’t think funds will be a problem.”
This is playing out at a time when TMC chairperson and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has attempted to corner the BJP with its own brand of temple politics by expediting the Jagannath temple project in Digha, a coastal town in Purba Medinipur district, and inducting ISKCON Kolkata vice president Radharamn Das in the temple’s board of trustees. Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari’s home turf Contai is in Purba Medinipur.
“Making a Ram Mandir is a welcome move, Bharat and Ram are synonymous. In a district where we are seeing demographic changes and hearing separatist voices, if Lord Ram stands guard, there is nothing better. On the other hand, if one wants to celebrate a foreign invader (referring to Babar), it reflects on that person’s mentality,” said BJP Rajya Sabha MP Samik Bhattacharya.
TMC state vice-president Jay Prakash Majumder said the mosque was Kabir’s personal initiative. Last month, Kabir got in trouble with the party over his comments advocating Abhishek Banerjee’s elevation as state Home Minister.
“Anyone can build a temple and worship. However, since BJP leaders are involved one has to see whether it is another attempt at divisive politics and attempt to provoke disharmony. This is not an isolated initiative, they have been doing it for a long time. The administration is also looking closely at the developments … As far as Kabir is concerned, it is his initiative,” Majumder said.
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