Controversial Kolkata Shahi Imam Moulana Syed Noorur Rahman Barkati of the Tipu Sultan mosque was dismissed from his post on Saturday over his “anti-national comments”, The Hindu reported. The development follows his refusal to remove the red beacon from his vehicle before a representative from the state government asked him to detach the device. Barkati, however, had said had done so “voluntarily”.
“The British government permitted us to install the red light, so why should I remove it?” Barkati was earlier reported to have said.
“The intolerant statements of the Tipu Sultan masjid imam are deplorable,” read a statement from West Bengal State Jamiat-E-Ulama. “We are Indians, and every citizen should abide by the Constitution, democratic, secular and cultural values and criminal laws.”
Meanwhile, Barkati has lodged a complaint against minister Siddiqullah Chowdhury for staging a protest outside the mosque over the matter.
The imam had rejected the Centre’s April 19 directive against the use of “lal battis” on non-emergency vehicles from May 1 and threatened to launch “jihad if one tries to make the country a Hindu rashtra”. On May 12, Barkati had said he would take off the red beacon from his vehicle if the prime minister and his Cabinet colleagues were ready to live without security guards, Hindustan Times reported.
At least three police complaints were registered against him in West Bengal, NDTV reported. “I removed the red light after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee sent one of her ministers, asking me to remove it as it was creating unnecessary problems,” he said, according to the news channel.
The last time the imam made headlines was when he had issued a fatwa against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for launching the demonetisation drive.
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