Two Murshidabad MPs have urged West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari to address the controversial removal of mosque loudspeakers and expedite hearings for 27 lakh citizens excluded from electoral rolls.
Key Points
- Murshidabad MPs urged CM Suvendu Adhikari to halt the removal of mosque loudspeakers, citing police overenthusiasm.
- MPs alleged Muslims are being unfairly targeted over the loudspeaker issue, despite court directives on noise pollution.
- They requested the CM to fast-track hearings for 27 lakh people excluded from electoral rolls, impacting welfare schemes.
- The MPs highlighted that many excluded voters are genuine but face issues due to paperwork complexities and errors.
- CM Adhikari reportedly assured MPs he would look into the loudspeaker issue and expedite electoral roll hearings.
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 in Kolkata 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.
West Bengal MPs Raise Loudspeaker Concerns
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.
Police Overreach Alleged In Loudspeaker Removal
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.
Call To Fast-Track Electoral Roll Hearings
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.
