Kolkata:After days of uncertainty, West Bengal government has given the nod for the November 20 rally of All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) at Park Circus Maidan.
“We have received the nod from the state government for holding the rally at Park Circus Maidan. The venue was the bone of contention and after days of discussions with the administration the problem has been solved,” AIMPLB organising committee chairman Sultan Ahmed told PTI.
Ahmed, who is also a MP of ruling Trinamool Congress, said it has been decided that a 20,000 sq ft banquet hall would be rented for the two-day closed door conference on November 18 and November 19.
In the last one month the imams and AIMPLB members had sought permission for holding the conference at the Haj house on VIP Road but permission for it was denied by the government.
Earlier in the day, a section of the imams had lashed out at the state government for dillydallying with the permission on the conference venue.
Minority Youth Federation Secretary Md Kamruzzaman held a press conference along with some imams and accused the state government of “playing into the hands of BJP”.
“West Bengal is known as the most secular place in the country and Mamata Banerjee the most secular politician. But now things seem to have changed and the state seems to have played into the hands of BJP … AIMPLB is the highest personal law making body of the Muslims in the country. It is an honour that they have decided to hold their convention in Kolkata. But the state is dillydallying with the permission,” he said.
Kamruzzaman also demanded that the allowance of imams and muezzins be increased from Rs 2,500 and Rs 1,000 to Rs 10,000 and Rs 6,000 respectively.