Naoda MLA Humayun Kabir has threatened to block a 30-km stretch of NH-12 in Murshidabad for four to five hours on December 6, prompting heightened police vigilance around Maradighi and the proposed site of a mosque he is planning to build.
Kabir, who heads the Aam Janata Unnayan Party, made the announcement on Monday, saying that supporters would gather at the site and prevent traffic movement between Rejinagar and Behrampore. The date coincides with the anniversary of the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya in 1992.
“Lakhs of Muslim brothers will gather at the site at Maradighi. The 30-km stretch of the NH from Rejinagar to Behrampore will be blocked for 4-5 hours. Let the police stop us if they can,” Kabir said, according to the Times of India report.
Kabir also said followers would travel from Krishnanagar, Jalangi, Saithia and Burdwan to converge near Behrampore. He said the gathering would not breach peace, but his stated plan would affect traffic on a major highway corridor connecting settlements and commercial centres in Murshidabad.
The proposed blockade is linked to Kabir’s plans for a mosque at Maradighi, which he has referred to as a “Babri Masjid”. He said construction would be completed by December 10, 2028, at an estimated cost of around Rs 87 crore. According to his statement, the mosque would have capacity for 80,000 people offering namaz at one time, while rooms were being built in the basement for visitors to rent.
The announcement comes after Kabir’s party lost the Rejinagar bypoll to the BJP. The report said Kabir had earlier announced that he would retire from active politics and settle in Dubai on a golden visa, before returning to public attention with the proposed highway blockade.
The threat has drawn criticism from rival political parties. BJP Rejinagar MLA Shankharav Sarkar said constituents had lost interest in what he described as “Babri rhetoric”. Sarkar said he would support the construction of a mosque in the area but would not allow it to be named after Babur.
Congress leader Jayanta Das described the controversy as a joint strategy by the BJP and Kabir’s party to polarise voters. Nationalist Congress Party of India MP Abu Taher Khan accused Kabir of attempting to project himself as a leader of Muslims by invoking public sentiment associated with the Babri Masjid.
Police have heightened vigilance in the area following Kabir’s announcement. The supplied report does not specify whether authorities have granted permission for the proposed gathering or what traffic-diversion and crowd-control measures may be put in place. The immediate operational question for NH-12 is whether the threatened blockade will proceed and how authorities will manage movement along the Rejinagar-Behrampore stretch on December 6.
