"Mosque not inside airport, airport is around mosque", says Nawsad; Calls for round-table meet

Indian Secular Front (ISF) MLA Nawsad Siddiquie has sharply criticized the West Bengal Chief Minister regarding the ongoing dispute over the Bankra mosque, which is located inside the Kolkata airport premises. Highlighting the historical presence of the religious site, Siddiqui stated that it is not a mosque within the airport, but rather the airport that was built around the pre-existing mosque. He urged the Chief Minister to immediately convene a round-table meeting involving all stakeholders to resolve the operational impasse through peaceful dialogue.

The political reaction follows a heavy deployment of security forces around the Bankra mosque complex. The security reinforcement was triggered by a call for a peaceful demonstration issued by Siddiqullah Chowdhury, the West Bengal president of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind. The organization organized a gathering near the mosque's Jessore Road entrance, where local residents were instructed to wear black badges and armbands following Friday prayers to protest the suspension of religious activities. Chowdhury emphasized that the local community holds official documentation from the Airports Authority of India (AAI) permitting regular prayers and Ramadan rituals, questioning the sudden legal validity of the restriction.

Prayers at the premises have remained suspended for nearly a week due to critical security concerns raised by central authorities. The AAI had initially blocked access to the area under the pretext of conducting mandatory repairs on the approach road. However, the restrictions were extended indefinitely after the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) raised serious concerns regarding visitors entering the sensitive airside zone using basic local identity cards. The Jamiat leadership has stated they intend to pursue a legal route to resolve the security deadlock.