Bengal minister should withdraw 'need to spread Islam’ comment, says BJP; stages walkout

Kolkata: BJP MLAs in the West Bengal Assembly on Wednesday staged walkouts every time senior minister Firhad Hakim rose to reply to questions in the House, protesting the TMC leader’s comment at a recent event that there is a “need to spread Islam among non-Muslims”.

The saffron party legislators left the House three times during the day.

Hakim, the Urban Development Minister, claimed that his comments have no relation to politics as well as the society and he would remain secular as he has been.

The BJP MLAs, led by chief whip Shankar Ghosh, demanded that Hakim withdraw that comment.

“I have been a secular person throughout my life. Whatever comments I had made at a religious programme has nothing to do with politics and the society. I’ll remain secular and non-communal till the last breath of my life,” Hakim said.

Amid this speech of Hakim, who is also the Kolkata mayor, BJP MLAs staged a walkout for the third time.

Dubbing this as “unconstitutional” and “unprecedented”, Speaker Biman Bandyopadhyay urged the saffron party legislators to follow the decorum of the Assembly.

TMC MLAs protested against multiple walkouts of the BJP MLAs.

Agriculture Minister Shobhandeb Chatterjee said that in his 30-plus years of political career, he has never seen any opposition party act like this.

“Remarks made by somebody at a programme outside have no link to the House. This should not be discussed here,” Chattopadhyay said.

He claimed that the people of Bengal would vote the BJP out of the state in the assembly elections due in 2026.

Hakim’s comment made at the 'All India Quran Competition' held earlier this month stirred a controversy.

“Those who are not born in Islam are unfortunate. They are born with misfortune. We have to bring them under the fold of Islam,” Hakim had said.