Overview
- Suspended TMC MLA Humayun Kabir laid the foundation stone in Beldanga, Murshidabad on December 6, deliberately coinciding with the Babri demolition anniversary.
- The Calcutta High Court declined to halt the ceremony after law-and-order assurances, and a large police and paramilitary deployment reported no clashes.
- TMC reiterated Kabir’s suspension and distanced itself, while BJP leaders condemned the move, with UP Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya vowing to oppose and dismantle any mosque built in Babur’s name.
- Kabir said he will announce a new party on December 22 and confirmed talks with Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM for a possible alliance targeting Muslim-majority seats.
- Reactions widened beyond Bengal, with IICF and former litigant Iqbal Ansari urging against naming a mosque after Babur, as a Hyderabad group said it plans a Babri memorial with welfare facilities.