People not born into Islam unfortunate, have to spread the religion among them: Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim sparks row

Hakim reportedly said this at an event which took place at an event in Kolkata's Dhano Dhanyo Auditorium on July 3.

In a viral video, Hakim, a senior leader of Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress, was heard saying, "People who were not born into Islam are unfortunate. We have to spread Islam to them."

"Thousands of Islamic people sitting together with skullcaps show our unity," said Kolkata's first Mayor from the Islam community, leading others on the dais to chant "Inshallah, inshallah".

Slamming TMC for the "appeasement politics", Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) IT Cell head Amit Malviya posted on X, "The TMC's penchant for extreme appeasement politics in West Bengal is an open secret. The party’s relentless appeasement politics has paid off, as evident from the successive electoral victories and subsequent post poll violence, which have emboldened the TMC, making it more audacious and haughty than ever. The brazen act of publicly flogging a woman by TMC’s JCB in a manner akin to Sharia Court punishment and the reprehensible defense by TMC’s Chopra MLA, Hamidur Rahman, asserting such actions are typical in a ‘Muslim Rashtra,’ have already incited a political maelstrom and bears the testament to the TMC’s ‘underlying agenda’.

"Now, TMC heavyweight and Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim openly acknowledged this ‘underlying agenda’, by brazenly advocating the conversion of ‘ill-fated non-Muslims’ to Islam to ostensibly please ‘Allah’. These flagrant incidents portend an ominous future, where the TMC’s policy of appeasement will intensify, heralding a day not far off when West Bengal is wholly converted into a ‘Muslim Rashtra’ under ‘Didi’s Anuprerona (inspiration).’"

Hakim, a close confidante of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, had sparked a similar row in 2016 when he referred to the Muslim-dominated Garden Reach area "mini Pakistan" speaking to a reporter from Pakistan media outlet Dawn.

Defending himself, Hakim had later said, "I didn't say so but she (the reporter) was here to cover my campaign. She told me that 'it looks like the lanes of Karachi". I told her 'you feel like home'. There is nothing wrong with that."