Humayun Kabir blames West Bengal CM for communal remarks

Humayun Kabir apologises for communal remarks, attributing them to West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee's influence ahead of elections.

Janata Unnayan Party founder and suspended Trinamool Congress MLA Humayun Kabir on Saturday (January 31, 2026) publicly apologised for making communally offensive remarks against Hindus nearly a year ago.

Mr. Kabir held a public rally in Murshidabad where Imran Solanki, the State president of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, was present. The public gathering was projected as a show of strength by Mr. Kabir, who has risen to political prominence after his call to set up a mosque modelled on the Babri Masjid in the district. The suspended Trinamool Congress leader said that work on the construction of the mosque would begin on February 11.

On the issue of the communally offensive remarks, Mr. Kabir said he had made the remarks at the behest of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who had asked him to ensure victory for Trinamool Congress candidates Yusuf Pathan and Abu Taher in the 2024 Lok Sabha election. The remark, made in May 2024, had evoked strong reactions in political circles, with the Bharatiya Janata Party demanding action against the MLA. However, no police complaint was registered against Mr. Kabir. He apologised to Hindus and said he would not make such remarks in future.

Recently, Mr. Kabir met Communist Party of India (Marxist) State secretary Md. Salim, triggering speculation about a fresh political alignment in West Bengal politics. In the 2021 Assembly elections, the CPI(M)-led Left Front and the Congress had entered into an electoral alliance with the Indian Secular Front (ISF), a relatively new political outfit at the time.

Only ten days ago, ISF MLA Nawshad Siddique said it was essential to forge an alliance with the Congress and the Left Front at the earliest to defeat the Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party in the upcoming Assembly elections.