Amid a controversy surrounding the foundation-laying of a Babri Masjid replica in West Bengal's Murshidabad district, the Calcutta High Court on Friday refused to intervene in the matter. It said the responsibility to maintain law and order would rest with the state government.

The foundation stone of the mosque, proposed by Trinamool Congress MLA Humayun Kabir — who has since been suspended by the party for this — is being laid at Beldanga in Murshidabad on Saturday (6 December). This day marks the anniversary of the demolition of the mosque in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya, where a Ram Temple has now been built after Supreme Court settled the matter.

The division bench of Calcutta HC Acting Chief Justice Sujoy Paul passed the order following the Mamata Banerjee-led government's submission in that it has made sufficient deployment of police forces to ensure that peace is not breached, news agency PTI reported.

The Union government, in its submission, said 19 companies of Central Armed Police Forces, which were deployed in the region following communal riots which rocked Murshidabad district in April this year, remain posted there, and would be ready for deployment in the eventuality of violence.

Plea in court to stop ceremony

The plea in the high court sought a stay on the ceremony on the grounds that it could disrupt communal harmony. The petitioner said the court should take immediate action against Humayun Kabir's “provocative” remarks.

"The writ petition pertains to stop foundation stone laying of Babri Masjid in Beldanga Block 1, Murshidabad to maintain Law and order... The MLA has been using filthy and derogatory statements and hate speech against a community, which causes breach of public tranquility. Such kind of statements and hate speech over social media and YouTube news portal, being a Member of Legislative Assembly, may break the communal harmony of our state as well as our country," the petition alleged.

Responding to the HC's order not to interfere, Sabyasachi Mukherjee, counsel for the petitioner, said the court has ensured that the state will have to shoulder responsibility if law and order spirals out of control.

"We only voiced our apprehension about possible disruption of peace in the region over this programme. We never wanted to stop anyone from practising their faith. Now the state will have to ensure that no disturbance takes place. The Centre, too, has committed CAPF deployment and their forces are conducting route marches for area domination," Mukherjee said.

Babri Masjid replica at heart of row

While the counsel said that Kabir has submitted an undertaking in court saying that he would do nothing to incite violence, the TMC has already suspended Kabir over his “communal politics”.

“We don’t believe in communal politics. Kabir was warned thrice in the past by the party’s disciplinary committee. But now he has again done this,” Kolkata’s mayor and state minister Firhad Hakim said.

“With the consent of the party’s chairperson and the national general secretary, the party is suspending him. He will have no relation with the party,” Hakim added.

Kabir, meanwhile, hailed the court's order as “a victory for the Constitution” and said the bench's take on the matter proved that he was "on the right track".

"The court has rightly pointed out that it is the duty of the state to maintain law and order. There are multiple police stations in this region and there are a sufficient number of police in the hands of the government to ensure there is no breach of law and order. We, too, will have 2,000 volunteers to ensure no untoward incident takes place during the ceremony," he said.

The MLA, though, added that a "40-kilometer stretch between Beherampur and Plassey" in the district would remain "choc-a-block with lakhs of people who will attend the programme" on Saturday afternoon.

Kabir has been slammed for choosing the communally sensitive Beldanga area for the Babri replica.

“Kabir is a resident of Rejinagar and the MLA of Bharatpur. Then why is he planning to build a masjid in Beldanga? It is because Beldanga is communally sensitive, and it would be easier to trigger a riot. This would help the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) before the elections,” HT quoted party leader Hakim as saying in an earlier report.

Despite the opposition from the TMC, Kabir stayed firm on his plan and said he would launch his own party later this month.

“I will resign from the party itself and launch my own political party on December 12. The TMC will have to pay for this by being ousted from power... I will fight both with the BJP and the TMC in the coming election,” Kabir said.

BJP's sharp attack on Humayun Kabir

BJP leader Arjun Singh earlier warned Kabir aying that he would "send him to Babur" if he went ahead with his plan to lay the foundation stone of the 'Babri Masjid-style' mosque.

"If Kabir tries to build a Babri Masjid here, I will send him to Babur (Mughal emperor). There will be no foundation-laying ceremony, it is all drama," Singh as quoted as saying by PTI.

"India is Hindu-majority nation. One can build a mosque, but using the name of 'Babri' insults the Constitution," he added.