Maulana Nurur Rehman Barkati, the Shahi Imam of Tipu Sultan mosque in Kolkata finally succumbed to media and political pressure and removed the red beacon from his vehicle, but it would seem that the ruling establishment has already decided to distance themselves from him.

The imam had been blatantly using his car’s beacon light despite the Union Cabinet’s directive to completely remove the symbol of power from May 1. He claimed that the Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee had told him to roam freely as she was firmly behind him.

On Saturday, May 13 he admitted that the chief minister had in fact, asked him to remove the beacon.

Senior Trinamool leaders revealed that his brazen attempt to challenge the law of land has not gone down well with the ruling dispensation particularly Banerjee, who has tried to send a harsh message to her rakhi brother. Well-placed sources said that senior leadership is also less-than-pleased over the way Barkati dragged the chief minister into the issue by claiming to have her full support in using the beacon.

The change in attitude was clearly visible when state minister Siddiqullah Chowdhury accused Barkati of “blackmailing the chief minister” after he eventually took down the light, “He is an Imam and should remain confined in religious activities. He has joined hands with RSS to stoke communal tensions in the state and destroy communal harmony. He should be thrown out of the mosque.”

The minister’s comments have raised eyebrows as party leaders feel that no one would speak against Barkati in such manner unless prodded from the “top level.”

“The message seems to have come from the top as nobody has the courage to speak openly against the Imam who enjoys considerable clout in the party.  The recent incident involving red beacon and the way it has been handled by the media has damaged the image of the chief minister. She is being looked as somebody who supports law breakers. The rivals are leaving no stone unturned to draw political mileage,” a senior Trinamool Congress leader told Newslaundry on condition of anonymity.

True to his word, the Bharatiya Janata Party has begun to stage protests across the state capital questioning the chief minister for her silence on Barkati  supposed ‘anti-national’ comments.

The controversial Imam is known for making inflammatory statements against the politicians and issuing useless fatwas. “The British government permitted us to install red light, so why should I remove it?” Barkati had asked on May 9. He also threatened to teach a lesson to those who would join the RSS-BJP, going to the extent of threatening to wage ‘jihad’ in the country if India is declared a Hindu Rashtra.

In 2011, Barkati held a special Friday prayer for the ‘peace of the soul’ of al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden. He also spearheaded a campaign demanding a ban on Bengali serials scripted by Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen in 2013. He had also supported the groups who had hounded the author out of Kolkata in 2007. During the critical general elections in 2014, according to media reports, Banerjee did not want to risk her voter base and asked for his help in mobilising Muslim voters. He was quoted saying that not only Didi, but several other TMC leaders had called to seek his help.

The ‘fatwa specialist’, as he is often known, did not spare the Prime Minister either. He issued a fatwa against  Narendra Modi and had offered Rs 25 lakh to anyone who would shave and blacken the face of Modi following demonetisation.

Barkati was rarely taken seriously until the Trinamool Congress came to power in 2011. His critics have accused of taking undue advantage of his proximity to the Chief Minister. When Bengal switched from the Left to the TMC, Muslims en bloc turned towards Didi, particularly after she refused an alliance with the BJP. Of course, Barkati was not the only Muslim cleric or leader to extend support to TMC, but as the Imam of a famous mosque, he enjoyed unrivalled leverage. Needless to say,  Barkati’s political calculations hit the nail when Didi became the CM and consequently he became the uncrowned Shahi Imam in true sense by default.

His clout and influence have only grown since Banerjee tied the rakhi. It is an open secret in Kolkata that his proximity has benefited him financially as well.

“Two of his three sons are government employees, while the third is a senior official in a power supply company with the blessing of the Chief Minister.  He has already made a huge wealth for him. He claims himself to be a Shahi Imam but has no qualification for holding the post. He has obtained everything by forgery. He has never thought about the community but has done everything for himself and his family. His goons continue to harass people,” said Ishtafaq Khan, one of Barkati’s most vocal critics.

Anwar Ali Shah, the great grandson of Prince Gholam Ali Shah and mutwali religious head of the Waqf Estate of Prince Gholam Mohammad, had written to the head of the managing committee of the mosque for his termination from the post of Imam only last month.

“We have recommended the termination of the imam after he did not respond to our showcause notice that was sent to him in January. We wanted to know why he was using the mosque to boost his political carrier. We decided to recommend his termination when he did not reply to our queries.” he said.

Only Yesterday did the Jamiyat Ulma-E-Hind’s Bengal unit organise a protest against Barkati just outside of his mosque. Reportedly Banerjee is now irritated with him and has asked the management committee of said mosque to remove him from the post of chief.

Around 250 shopkeepers near Tipu Sultan mosque had shut their shops in protest of Barkati’s increasing meddling in political matters on February 17, this year.

“The media has also to be blamed for giving him so much importance. He should be completely boycotted. But for TRPs news channels continue to pester him. Barkati wants to become the collective political voice of the community” said Sk. Aslam, secretary of Shopkeepers Welfare Association of Tipu Sultan Mosque. Aslam argued that none of the people in the association supported his views or statements and “his comments put our community in a bad light.”

However, Barkati’s followers find no fault in him. After all, his actions and audacity have gone unchecked, surely a sign of support from those in power.