‘Fatwa imam’ refuses to give up red beacon, complaint lodged
The imam of Kolkata’s Tipu Sultan mosque, Noor-urRehman Barkati, better known as the ‘fatwa imam’ for issuing fatwas against personalities such as Taslima Nasreen and Narendra Modi, has again sparked a controversy for refusing to give up a red beacon on his car.
Barkati, who loves to call himself shahi imam, told a TV channel on May 9 that the British permitted the use of red beacon and he won’t remove it. The government from May 1 banned red beacons atop cars of all ministers, politicians and bureaucrats, ending a privilege that was seen as the ultimate status symbol.
Late on Thursday, a police complaint was lodged against him in Kolkata . According to the complaint, Barkati repeatedly said chief minister Mamata Banerjee did not oppose the beacon. “The British government has permitted us to install red light, so why should I remove it,” Barkati said. The imam did not take calls despite repeated attempts for the past two days.
The imam is given police protection and recently also got away after issuing a fatwa against the prime minister despite a police complaint filed against him by state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders.
This time he is attracting criticism from political parties too. Communist Party of India (Marxist) politburo member and Lok Sabha MP, Mohammad Salim, told Hindustan Times that the imam has no right to use a red beacon.
“He is deliberately created by Trinamool to create a binary between two communities. He enjoys the ruling party patronage and thinks himself to be someone of importance. His comments on red beacon are the reflection of his arrogance, which Trinamool is deliberately pampering,” Salim said.
Congress state secretary and Jadavpur University professor Omprakash Mishra wrote on Facebook that the state government is silent as taking off the red beacon from his car may spell doom for the party.
“He has publicly said the chief minister has asked him to continue with the beacon. After this none in the state cabinet is in any position to comment,” a senior member of the state cabinet told Hindustan Times on Friday.