New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya on Sunday (December 7) cautioned that any construction in the name of Mughal ruler Babar would be met with firm resistance, responding to a fresh controversy triggered in West Bengal.

Maurya's comments came after suspended Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Humayun Kabir was in news due to his decision to lay the foundation stone for a mosque in Rejinagar, Murshidabad, on Saturday. The proposed structure, inspired by Ayodhya’s Babri Masjid, has intensified political tensions in the state ahead of next year’s assembly elections.

Speaking to reporters, Maurya said, "There is no issue with the construction of a mosque, but if someone builds it in the name of Babar, then we will not only oppose it, but we will also ensure it is swiftly dismantled," according to news agency PTI.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader also attacked the Samajwadi Party (SP), claiming its president Akhilesh Yadav was rattled after the party’s poor showing in the Bihar polls. Without naming him directly, Maurya said, "The SP chief's mental state has deteriorated following the party's crushing defeat in Bihar, and he is now indulging in unrealistic dreams."

He argued that the SP’s performance in the 2024 elections would not translate into future gains, asserting that in the 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, the party "will not even be in a position to sit in the opposition." "The future of the Samajwadi Party already appears bleak."

Further, Maurya claimed that following the Bihar verdict, "red caps and 'jalidari caps' (netted caps) have disappeared from Uttar Pradesh."

Maurya was in Jhansi for a review meeting on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and later visited the Pitambara Peeth temple in Datia.

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