A Muslim organisation named Sunni Gausiya Foundation (SGF) has deferred its proposed protest rally against the amended Waqf Act, which was scheduled to take place in the Dabgram-Fulbari area tomorrow near Uttarkanya under the Siliguri Police Commissionerate.

The decision came after objections and appeals from various quarters. SGF leaders announced the rally yesterday.

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Siliguri mayor Goutam Deb, who was attending several events, including the Bengali New Year celebrations organised by the Corporation, held an urgent meeting with SGF leaders midday today in an effort to pacify them. Following the discussion, the SGF leadership agreed to defer the protest scheduled for tomorrow.

Notably, Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s national organising secretary Milind Parande, while addressing the press earlier in the day, voiced strong opposition to such a rally being held in Fulbari—an area close to the Indo-Bangladesh border.

Mr Parande further alleged that hundreds of Muslims from Assam and Bihar had travelled to the Siliguri region—by train and by bus respectively—and were being accommodated in local mosques to join the rally. He urged the administration to prevent the rally and keep a strict watch on these outsiders, even recommending the use of drones for surveillance.

The police and local administration are already on high alert following recent communal clashes in Ward No. 4 in Siliguri, which took place just a day before Chadak Puja and Gajan Festival.

Addressing the media, mayor Goutam Deb said: “Since chief minister Mamata Banerjee has already clarified her stance and assured that she would look into the matter, I appealed to the SGF to defer the protest considering the current situation. I thank them for agreeing to postpone the programme.”

Md Asraf Hossain, Imam of Fulbari Jame Masjid, added: “As the chief minister is now directly looking into the issue, we have decided to defer the rally temporarily, even though preparations were complete. We plan to hold the protest shortly, after securing the necessary permission from the administration.”

He further stated: “We had conducted over 40 preparatory meetings and had planned to mobilise over 50,000 people from different areas of Siliguri and Jalpaiguri. But in the interest of peace, and fearing that some individuals in disguise might create trouble, we chose to defer the programme. However, our protest march will be organised soon.”

Darjeeling MP Raju Bista, who had earlier written to the chief minister urging her to stop the rally, welcomed the decision to postpone it.