The ever-changing population demographics of West Bengal has been a matter of concern for the Hindu population in the State. With a low birth rate, coupled with mass infiltration of illegal Muslim immigrants from the neighbouring country of Bangladesh, Hindus have already been outnumbered in Murshidabad, Malda and Uttar Dinajpur districts.
Now, in an undated video, Islamic cleric Peerzada Abbas Siddiqui has revealed that Muslims constitute the majority in the State of West Bengal. “This is Bengal. We (Muslims) are not minorities here. We are the majority here. Keep this in mind. We have a 35% population in the State,” he emphasised. Siddiqui also claimed that such a thing was possible as Adivasis, Matuas and Dalits did not fall into the Hindu fold. “We are the majority here,” he reiterated.
Peerzada Abbas Siddiqui of Furfura Sharif in West Bengal, Ind, says at a public meeting in Pingla,Medinipur, ‘It is Bengal,we r the majority here. Here we r not a minority.Keep it in mind.We r 35% here.Matuas r not Hindus,Dalits r not Hindus either.They r all different religions. pic.twitter.com/3stoJsd5M5
— Raju Das 🇧🇩 (@RajuDas7777) November 28, 2020
As per 2011 Census data, Muslims constitute around 27% of the population in West Bengal. According to Siddiqui, the Muslim population in the State has increased by 8% to 35% in the past 9 years. In 2015, the Times of India reported that if the growth of Hindu population declined by 0.9% in India, then, it was 1.9% in West Bengal. On the contrary, if the Muslim population increased by 0.8% in the country, then their population in West Bengal grew by 1.77%.
“If we do not come to power next time, they (Hindus) will rape our women in front of our eyes. Do you understand? You cannot do anything if you do not have power in your hands,” Siddiqui was seen fear-mongering at a public rally.
It is important to note that Siddiqui is planning to enter politics. According to reports, Asaduddin Owaisi’s All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) will ally with Siddiqui’s group in the upcoming assembly elections in West Bengal. AIMIM will contest elections in the state for the first time, and it will be benefited by the existing grassroot support that Siddiqui enjoys.
Muslim parties coming together to contest Bengal election may result in trouble for Mamata Banerjee’s TMC, which has been getting Muslim votes in the last elections.
May Allah send a virus that kills 50 crores Indians, prayed cleric
With dozens of videos on TikTok featuring Muslims claiming that Coronavirus can’t do any harm to them as they regularly pray to their God, a video of Siddiqui was circulating on social media, in which he demanded a virus from Allah that could kill 50 crore people in India in one go. In this video, the maulana was saying in Bengali, referring to riots in Delhi- “recently I have got the news that mosques are being set on fire, mosques are being burnt for the last two days. I think something is going to happen within a month. May Allah accept our prayers. May Allah send such a terrible virus to India that ten to twenty to fifty crore people die in India. Am I saying something wrong? It is absolutely blissful.” After that, the crowd present there applauds his statement.
Peerzada Abbas Siddiqui threatened to block Kolkata airport
Earlier, Abbas Siddiqui had threatened to block Kolkata airport if the Citizenship (Amendment) Act is not revoked. Claiming that the citizenship law is unfair to the Muslim population of the country, the cleric, Abbas Siddiqui from Furfura Sharif, in Jangipara, Hoogly, West Bengal, urged Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to either move Supreme Court challenging the contentious citizenship law or bring a resolution against the Act in state Assembly.
Speaking to Times Now the cleric said he has asked Mamata Banerjee to take immediate steps to stall the Act or else “she risks losing the support of Muslims in West Bengal.” He added that all the protests that the West Bengal CM is leading in the state might be satisfactory for other people, but they are not enough to satisfy the Muslim population.
