Controversial cleric Barkati sacked as Shahi Imam of Tipu Sultan Mosque, refuses to quit

Shahi Imam of Tipu Sultan Mosque, Maulana Nurur Rehman Barkati.

Kolkata: Controversial Islamic cleric Maulana Nurur Rehman Barkati was on Wdnesday sacked as the Shahi Imam of Tipu Sultan Mosque for “objectionable and inflammatory remarks against the country”. He had refused to take off the red beacon from his vehicle but removed it on Tuesday. Barkati, however, refused to step down, asserting, nobody has the right to remove him. "We have sent him the notice of termination and he has been asked to vacate the office room allotted to him. We have asked his deputy to conduct prayers and we will appoint a new imam very soon," Prince Ghulam Ahmed Wakf Estate trustee Arif Ahmed was quoted by PTI as saying. Barkati was embroiled in a controversy last week when he refused to remove the red beacon from his vehicle, saying it was his right to use it. "No, there was no political pressure on me to remove the red light. How will political parties put pressure on me? I am the Shahi Imam and will follow the law," he said A senior officer of Kolkata traffic police told news agency PTI that the Imam had removed the red beacon of his own volition. Imam Barkati is infamous for issuing a fatwa against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his decision to demonetise old Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 notes. He had offered a reward of ₹25 lakh to anyone who will “cut off Modi’s beard, shave his head and smear him with black ink”. The controversial cleric is considered to be close to the ruling Trinamool Congress. He had also then said that most people who kept a beard were religious scholars, “but Narendra Modi keeping a beard is only an act of falsehood”. Regrding the termination, Shahzada Anwar Ali Shah, the head of the mosque’s board of trustees, reportedly said," Through his anti-national comments, he has done disservice to the nation and the community… in reality has encouraged fundamentalist forces like RSS. He has betrayed our community… Hence, we feel that he has no right to continue as the Imam of the mosque." The controversial cleric is considered to be close to the ruling Trinamool Congress.