Muharram will be celebrated on September 21 this year
Two days ahead of Muharram, a lawmaker of Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress has issued an appeal to the Muslim community not to display swords and other weapons during processions on 21 September.
"Displaying swords is not part of Islam," Idris Ali, the lawmaker, said at a press meet in Kolkata on Wednesday. "Also, the situation in the country is such, there is the BJP, the Bajrang Dal, trying to make communal trouble in Bengal. Don't give them a chance."
The appeal not to display swords comes months after Mamata Banerjee ordered a police crackdown on Ram Navami celebrations by the BJP in Bengal which included a display of weapons as well. In fact, police cases were filed against the state BJP chief Dilip Ghosh for marching in a Ram Navami rally brandishing a sword several feet long.
Ram Navami processions had also lead to communal clashes at Asansol this year.
Asked if the appeal against swords at Muharram was a move to quell criticism from the Hindu community and the BJP which has been accusing Mamata Banerjee of minority appeasement for years, Mr Ali said, "The situation is such. We have had to appeal. Otherwise motivated people will try to create trouble."
He also took a potshot at Prime Minister Narendra Modi who, he said, was reportedly visiting mosques these days. "When someone offered him a topee, he refused to accept it, no no I won't become a Muslim, he said. But now he is going to dargahs and masjids. In Bengali, this is called 'bhandami'. We have to stop them. So we are cautious."
The BJP is yet to react to Mr Ali's appeal.
Just days ago, Ms Banerjee announced a Rs 10,000 "donation" to 28,000 puja committees across Bengal for Durga Puja, a move that will cost the state Rs 28 crore and has drawn criticism from several quarters. Ms Banerjee is trying to balance Hindu and Muslim appeasement, her critics have said.