KOLKATA: “Those who blame BJP for inciting communal sentiments themselves indulge in it many a time. Trinamool’s blaming BJP for the recent Dum Dum bomb blast is a recent case in point.”With these explosive words, Pirzada Taha Siddiqui of Furfura Sharif — the influential Kolkata imam all netas want on their side — made the strongest criticism yet of the Mamata Banerjee government, speaking to TOI on Thursday, following a protest rally the day before against Mamata Banerjee government’s decision to dole out Rs 28 crore from state coffers to Durga puja committees.The Pirzada on Wednesday took on the Bengal CM at the rally of hundreds of Muslim youth in front of the Tipu Sultan Masjid at Kolkata’s Esplanade, defying Kolkata Police’s “no-permission”, a decision the Pirzada also challenged saying: “We’ve not come here with swords and lathis… We came to voice our demands. What’s wrong with that?”All Bengal Minorities Youth Federation general secretary Kamarujjaman also addressed the youth, saying: “India is a secular country. A government should not sponsor a religious programme.”On the issue, the Pirzada pitched for level-handed treatment: “I’ve no problem if Mamata’s government grants money for Durga puja. But government should do that for other communities too.” Countering that Bengal government hands out honorariums to imams and muezzins, Siddiqui said, “Muslims have huge expanses of Wakf property in Bengal. The Wakf Board is the custodian of these lands. The government is giving imams, muezzins money from income of these Muslim properties. I don’t mind if government grants money to purohits serving Hindu ‘debottar’ properties either,” Siddiqui said.He added that Bengal had “dumped the Left Front government”, and that “this government will have a similar predicament if it treats us like this”. Not that Siddiqui wants his rumblings to go too far, calling Mamata “the guardian of Bengal who should treat all citizens equally”. “I’m against riots and divisive politics. The Left Front took our votes spreading the scare of riots among Muslims. Trinamool is scaring us using the BJP card now,” he said, going on to mention the recent Dum Dum bomb blast.