Yusuf Pathan draws BJP criticism over Adina Mosque photo

Indian cricketer-turned-politician Yusuf Pathan came under fire from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after he posted a photo of himself in front of the Adina Mosque in Malda, West Bengal, on Friday.

In his post on X (formerly Twitter), the Trinamool Congress (TMC) lawmaker highlighted the mosque’s historical and architectural value, noting that it was constructed in the 14th century by Sultan Sikandar Shah, the second ruler of the Ilyas Shahi dynasty. Pathan described the monument as a reflection of the region’s “architectural grandeur.”

However, the BJP’s West Bengal unit reacted sharply, alleging—without presenting evidence—that the mosque was built on the ruins of a Hindu temple. The party has long claimed that the Adina Mosque replaced the Adinath Temple, an assertion historians have not substantiated.

In 2022, a BJP leader claimed that remnants of the temple lay beneath the mosque, while two years later, a Hindu devotee attempted to perform religious rituals inside the site but was stopped by authorities and later faced legal action.

A lawyer has also written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah seeking permission for Hindu worship at the site.