April 14, 2026 12:30 pm (IST)
Follow us:
facebook-white sharing button
twitter-white sharing button
instagram-white sharing button
youtube-white sharing button
'ECI deviated from Bihar procedure': Supreme Court raises concerns over voter deletion in Bengal SIR | Noida workers’ protest turns violent: Stones pelted, vehicles damaged over wage hike demand | Oil prices jump above $103 a barrel as US moves to block Iran-linked shipping | I don’t care if they come back or not, says Trump after Iran talks collapse | Legendary singer Asha Bhosle suffers cardiac arrest, hospitalised | Big boost to India–Mauritius ties: S. Jaishankar hands over 90 e-buses | Middle East tension: Iranian delegation arrives in Islamabad for major talks, 10,000 security personnel deployed | Ranveer Singh visits RSS HQ amid Dhurandhar 2 success, triggers speculation | ED raids ex-Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee; SSC scam resurfaces ahead of polls | Amit Shah promises UCC, ₹3,000 aid per month for women and youth in BJP’s Bengal manifesto

TMC leader Firhad Hakim's "mini Pakistan" remark about his constituency sparks row

| | Apr 30, 2016, at 04:33 pm
Kolkata, Apr 30 (IBNS) Trinamool Congress leader Firhad Hakim's remarks to describe his Muslim-dominated assembly constituency Garden Reach as a "mini Pakistan" to a Pakistani journalist has triggered a huge row with the BJP immediately slamming the TMC legislator and minister and taking a dig at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Pakistan's Dawn covering Bengal elections began a story quoting Hakim where he allegedly describes the Garden Reach area as mini Pakistan. 
 
"'Please come along and let us take you to mini-Pakistan in Kolkata,' says Bobby Firhad Hakim, MLA candidate of the incumbent party in West Bengal, All India Trinamool Congress, which is on its last leg of its canvassing and voters decide the party’s fate in the phase-wise West Bengal assembly elections scheduled to be held on April 30 and May 5," the Dawn story by Maleeha Hamid Siddiqui starts.
 
While Hakim was quoted in a daily saying tht raising this issue is a "blatant attempt to foment communal tension ahead of the polls", the BJP was quick to seize the issue.
 
BJP leader and In-charge of BJP's national IT  Amit Malviya ‏tweeted: "TMC leader Bobby Hakim thinks that Port area is mini Pakistan.......  Mamata didi would be proud."

West Bengal is undergoing its sixth phase of assembly polls Saturday witnessing a contest between the ruling Trinamool Congress and the alliance of Left and Congress while the BJP is the third force in the election scene. 
 
Garden Reach is one of the constituencies going to polls on Saturday.
#Firhad Hakim # MiniPakistan # Dawn # BengalPolls

Support Our Journalism

We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism

IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.

Support objective journalism for a small contribution.
Related Images
In Images: Mamata Banerjee files nomination from Bhabanipur for Bengal polls
In Images: Mamata Banerjee files nomination from Bhabanipur for Bengal polls Apr 08, 2026, at 01:04 pm
In Images: Kangana Ranaut at Kalighat Temple in Kolkata
In Images: Kangana Ranaut at Kalighat Temple in Kolkata Apr 07, 2026, at 02:46 pm
In Images: Amit Shah holds roadshow for BJP candidates in Kolkata
In Images: Amit Shah holds roadshow for BJP candidates in Kolkata Apr 02, 2026, at 05:14 pm
Related Videos
TMC-BJP clash in Bengal #westbengal #tmc #bjp Mar 30, 2026, at 04:20 pm
Seven stolen dogs in China make daring escape from meat traders Mar 30, 2026, at 04:20 pm
Munich elects first openly gay Green mayor in historic shift Mar 30, 2026, at 04:19 pm