The minister, who enjoys a sizeable influence over more than 970 madrasas in the state with nearly 150,000 students, said the apex court and the central government have “no right to interfere in ‘Muslim personal law’.”

West Bengal minister and Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind president Siddiqullah Chowdhury today (24 August) said the Supreme Court verdict on triple talaq is “unconstitutional” and asked Muslims to “reject” the judgement.

The minister, who claims to have a vote share of 5-7 per cent in the state, alleged that judges passed the order without knowledge of Islam and its traditions and practices and said, “we will not abide by it”.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, meanwhile, continues to remain silent on the apex court’s verdict, even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Chief Ministers of different states have welcomed the judgement.

Banerjee has tended to avoid controversy that may hurt Muslim sentiments, a top Trinamool Congress leader told Mint. Muslims, by some estimates, form 30 per cent of West Bengal’s voters.