Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee questions imam allowance

Former West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Sunday questioned the Trinamool Congress government's decision to grant an allowance to imams, saying it would give the BJP an opportunity to reap political mileage in the state.

Addressing a CPM rally in Dum Dum, Bhattacharjee said: "Imams have been doing this jobs for ages. Why do we have to allocate money for them? Lakhs of Muslims are not getting jobs. I arranged for reservation for Muslim youths, but now that has been stopped. Now the BJP is saying that if you allot money for imams, why don't you allocate money for Hindu priests in temples? It is bound to raise a communal bogey in the state and BJP will make the most of the communal divide."

The BJP reacted sharply to Bhattacharjee's comments. Rahul Sinha, state president of the BJP, said: "The BJP's growth in the state is because of the misdeeds of TMC and CPM...both indulge in appeasement of minorities...."

Bhattacharjee also criticised the government for spending a lot of money on advertisements, especially printing the CM's pictures on government advertisements while the state is reeling under a financial crisis.

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