In yet another fatwa issued on Tuesday, Shahi Imam of Tipu Sultan Masjid, Syed Mohammed Nurur Rahman Barkati said that those Muslims who would support RSS and BJP would be ostracised from the community.

“As the Shahi Imam I declare that those Muslims who support RSS or BJP would be outcasted and if they try to put up a meeting or rally around this place I will beat them up myself,” Barkati said at a press conference today.

He said that there were many Muslims who had been bribed by the RSS and the BJP with huge money to spark riots in Bengal. “The Sangh Parivar is spreading its agenda of Hindutva across the country and just like there was jihad against the British tyranny, in India too there will be jihad against the RSS if they try to make India into a Hindu nation,” Barkati said. He was however quick to add that if BJP could distance themselves from the RSS they he did not have any issue with Narendra Modi being the Prime Minister of India.

Alleging that the RSS supporters were trying to incite Muslims into a fight, he called them ‘hijra’ (eunuchs). “They went on chanting names of their gods in front of masjids. So instead of confronting like eunuchs why don't they come to the forefront and fight if they have to?”

Referring to the issue of triple talaq he said that it was according to the Islamic law and should not be tampered with. “Shariya or the Islamic law has been laid down in a very just and scientific manner. It has been made to look like women had been kept deprived but in effect they have been given all the rights post-separation. Statistics reveal that there are about nine lakh Hindu divorcee women and less than four lakh Muslim divorcee women,” Barkati said.

He also alleged that members of the Muslim Personal Law Board (MPLB) were not doing their bit. “Muslim personal law board is not fighting its case properly. It doesn’t talk about Shariya at all. It talks only about the board, conducts meetings throughout the year and gathers money. I am sorry to say that the maulvis there too have been given to these malpractices. MPLB needs to be honest. They should not play foul. Muslims have been depending upon the board and if there is a foulplay Muslims of Bengal will not spare them,” he said.