Protests continue in front of the Deputy High Commission in Kolkata against attacks on minority Hindus in Bangladesh. BJP leader Subhendu Adhikari warned to stop the attacks immediately, otherwise they will return along with 5 lakh Gangasagar pilgrims.
The leader of the opposition in the West Bengal Assembly met officials of the Deputy High Commission today as part of a five-member delegation. He claimed that the authorities had no answers to most of his questions.
Subhendu Adhikari said, ‘I asked him that if former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina gave shelter to Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslims in Cox’s Bazar because they were Muslims, then why are Hindus being targeted indiscriminately? If they think that 2 crore Hindus in that country will be continuously targeted and 100 crore Hindus on this side of the border will silently watch the show, then they are completely wrong.
Targeted at Mamata government of Bengal
The BJP leader also hit out at the Mamata Banerjee government over the police action against people protesting in front of the Deputy High Commission this week. He said, ‘There is no difference between Muhammad Yunus’s police on the other side of the border and Mamata Banerjee’s police here. Both serve their masters blindly. He was referring to the lathicharge and arrest on December 23 of 19 supporters of the Hindu organization who tried to break barricades and raid the mission premises. On Friday, a large number of police were deployed in front of the Deputy High Commission office. The area was cordoned off with metal barricades driven into the ground. It was converted into a fort, so that the protesters could not reach the complex which is Bangladeshi sovereign territory on Indian land.
Handed over a letter with 6-point demands
Subhendu Adhikari was accompanied by a few hundred Hindu sadhus. They threatened to return with a larger force and attack the mission office if the attacks did not stop. He said, ‘Sadhus will set up camp at Babughat while going to Gangasagar fair. I will return early next year with 5 lakh Hindu pilgrims to Gangasagar and will uproot these barricades while marching towards the High Commission office. Earlier in the day, Hindu Samhita activists took out a rally to the mission office and submitted a 6-point demand letter to the officials. In this, strict punishment was demanded for those who lynched Dipu Chandra Das in Mymensingh on 18 December and protection of minorities and their religious institutions in Bangladesh.