Kolkata imam issues ''fatwa'' against PM, BJP demands his arrest

Kolkata/New Delhi, January 7

The Bharatiya Janata Party has demanded the arrest of an imam who issued a ‘fatwa’ against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Syed Mohammad Nurur Rahman Barkati, the Shahi Imam of Kolkata's Tipu Sultan Masjid, claims Modi short-changed the country when he decided to make old banknotes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 invalid.

"Everyday people are harassed and facing problem due to demonetisation… Modi is bluffing the society and the innocent people of the country through demonetisation and nobody wants him to continue as the Prime Minister," he said during a joint conference by the All India Majlis-e-Sura and All India Minority Forum. "People who keep beard are mostly religious like maulanas, sadhus, sufis, sikh gurus. But Modi keeping beard is 'bhondami' (bluffing). I have no hesitation in saying that he (Modi) is bluffing the country. He (Modi) has lost all his credentials as the Prime Minister."

BJP National Secretary Sidharth Nath Singh — the person in charge of the party’s affairs in West Bengal — warned of protests unless West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee took action.

"We demand that Mamata Banerjee immediately order his arrest. The fatwa against our Prime Minister is highly condemnable. TMC MP Idris Ali was sitting next to him when he issued the fatwa,” he said in Delhi. "This is not an issue between BJP and TMC. This is an insult of the Prime Minister by a religious leader considered close to the Chief Minister."  

Barkati had issued a ‘fatwa’ against BJP state president Dilip Ghosh for his comments on Mamata Banerjee. — PTI