Didi Pulls Up Close Aide Firhad Hakim For His Controversial ‘Minorities Can Become Majority’ Statement

West Bengal politics was set ablaze recently after a statement by Firhad Hakim, senior minister of Mamata Banerjee government. Addressing a gathering of minority students, Hakim, a trusted lieutenant of Didi remarked that minorities could soon become the majority, prompting sharp reactions from political circles and his own party, the Trinamool Congress. The TMC, quick to distance itself from Hakim’s remarks, faced an internal and external uproar. Party leaders expressed disapproval, with several calling the comments “unnecessary” and “potentially divisive.” Opposition parties, led by the BJP, accused Hakim of fuelling communal tensions and promoting a polarising narrative in the state. Hakim’s controversial statement marks another instance in a series of remarks that have landed him in trouble over the years. In 2016, he faced backlash for referring to the Garden Reach constituency as a “mini-Pakistan”. More recently, his description of a BJP candidate during a campaign as an “item” also drew severe criticism. Sources within the TMC revealed that Didi, who relies heavily on Hakim for political and administrative matters, has expressed dissatisfaction with his comments and reminded him of his past controversies that caused embarrassment to the party. In an unusually stern response, she advised him to exercise caution in his public statements to avoid further political damage. Hakim’s daughter Priyadarshini, a youth leader within the party, defended her father, asserting that his statement in Urdu had been misinterpreted. Political analysts say that TMC faces the dual challenge of containing the fallout from Hakim’s remarks while steering the focus back to governance and development in the run-up to crucial elections.