Kolkata: The Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal assembly and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, Suvendu Adhikari, along with Hindu saints, organised a protest in Kolkata against attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh.
Speaking to ANI, Suvendu Adhikari asked world communities to intervene and protect the minority communities of Bangladesh.
“… The attacks on our temples and Hindus in Bangladesh should be stopped, and the world community should intervene to protect the minority communities of Bangladesh; this is our demand… This movement will continue until the atrocities on Hindus stop…”
This came after allegations against the Bangladesh interim government of atrocities against Hindus in the country. Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri will make a visit to Bangladesh on December 9 and meet his counterpart there amid strained ties between New Delhi and Dhaka following reports of several attacks on minorities, especially Hindus, under the current interim government led by Muhammad Yunus.
Misri will lead the Foreign Office Consultations with Bangladesh and attend several other meetings during his visit. “The foreign secretary is scheduled to visit Bangladesh on the 9th of December. He will meet his counterpart, and there will be several other meetings during the visit. Foreign Office Consultations led by the Foreign Secretary are a structured engagement between India and Bangladesh. We look forward to this meeting,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in the weekly press briefing on Friday.
Asked about the situation on the ground in Bangladesh and the arrest of Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das, MEA affirmed hope that the legal rights of the concerned individuals are respected and the trial is conducted in a “fair and transparent” manner.
“As far as the situation on the ground regarding the individuals you want, we want to reiterate our position again that they have legal rights, and we hope that these legal rights will be respected and that the trial will be fair and transparent. They will get a fair and transparent trial,” Jaiswal further added.
Chinmoy Krishna Das, who is associated with the Sammilita Sanatani Jagaran Jote, was arrested in Dhaka on November 25 on ‘sedition’ charges. The arrest followed a complaint filed on October 31 by a local politician that accused Chinmoy Das and others of disrespecting Bangladesh’s national flag during a rally of the Hindu community.
On December 3, a Bangladesh court set January 2, 2025, as the next date of hearing in the case. The Chattogram court deferred the hearing on the bail petition of Chinmoy Krishna Das to January 2, The Daily Star reported. Chattogram Metropolitan Session Judge Saiful Islam set the new date for the hearing as the defence lawyer was absent from the court.
Earlier on December 4, Press Secretary to the Chief Advisor of Bangladesh’s interim government, Shafiqul Alam, said that the foreign secretaries of the two nations will hold talks on issues of mutual interest. (With Inputs from ANI)
