attacks on minorities

PTI report ruffles feathers in AL

A Press Trust of India (PTI) report on the attacks on religious minorities in Bangladesh has ruffled a few feathers in the ruling Awami League. The PTI report claimed that a few leaders of the minority community in Bangladesh had sought Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s intervention in curbing the killings and terrorist attacks on the minorities in the country. One of the leaders has alleged that his quote was “fabricated”. “India being a Hindu majority (country) should do something. We've high hopes from its prime minister Narendra Modi. Stability in the Indian subcontinent region can never be achieved with Bangladesh turning into a fundamental state,” the PTI report quoted advocate Rana Dasgupta, general secretary of the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council, as having said. Another minority leader and renowned actor Pijush Bandyopadhyay was quoted to have said, “Unless India puts pressure on Bangladesh, the fundamentalists won’t budge. India is a major power in the region; it can’t sit idle when minorities are being brutally slaughtered in a neighbouring country.” Commenting on the issue, information minister Hasanul Haq Inu said Bangladesh does not need help from any other country to ensure the safety of minorities. The minister was talking to reporters over the current situation of the country at the Press Information Department yesterday afternoon when the topic came up. He said minorities, as well as other people, are being attacked as part of the BNP-Jamaat conspiracy to embarrass the government and to upset religious harmony in the country. He pointed out that there are more than 20,000 temples in the country where religious activities are carried out regularly. The government is secular in principle, he added. On the other hand, Rana Dasgupta, in a press statement, termed the PTI report to be “false and fabricated”. “What the PTI has reported—that I have sought Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intervention to ensure safety for minorities in Bangladesh—is not true,” he said.
“I had only talked to the PTI correspondent about the current condition of Hindus in our country, but I never sought Narendra Modi’s intervention in this regard,” he added. On Sunday, pro-AL minority community leaders had expressed their dissatisfaction with the government’s role in curbing the ongoing secret killings and terrorist attacks, especially on the minorities. Rana Dasgupta had said that the AL central leaders and ministers were only paying “lip service” instead of curbing the killings.
“We have tried to convey our pain to the central leaders as well as the ministers but they are only paying lip service instead of taking concrete steps to curb the ongoing attacks on the minorities,” he had said. “Militant activities cannot be minimised by forming human chains,” he had added.
AL presidium member and 14-Party Alliance coordinator Mohammad Nasim said, “It is very unfortunate that Rana Dasgupta sought the intervention of another country’s prime minister and not his own. However, this is a very sensitive issue. I don’t want to make further comments on it.” AL joint general secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif refused to comment on the issue as well. Killings of minorities have continued in the country for quite a while. A 60-year-old ashram worker, Nityaranjan Pandey, was hacked to death on June 10 by suspected extremists. He was the fourth person from the minority community to be killed in a series of such attacks in Bangladesh. Only a week before that, a priest, a Christian grocer, and the wife of a police officer engaged in anti-terror operations were killed. In February, extremists stabbed a priest to death at a temple. In April, a professor was killed in Rajshahi city. This was followed by the murder of a tailor belonging to the minority community. Bangladesh’s first gay magazine editor, Xulhaz Mannan, was also killed in April.

 

attacks on minorities

PTI report ruffles feathers in AL

A Press Trust of India (PTI) report on the attacks on religious minorities in Bangladesh has ruffled a few feathers in the ruling Awami League. The PTI report claimed that a few leaders of the minority community in Bangladesh had sought Indian prime minister Narendra Modis intervention in curbing the killings and terrorist attacks on the minorities in the country. One of the leaders has alleged that his quote was fabricated. India being a Hindu majority (country) should do something. Weve high hopes from its prime minister Narendra Modi. Stability in the Indian subcontinent region can never be achieved with Bangladesh turning into a fundamental state, the PTI report quoted advocate Rana Dasgupta, general secretary of the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council, as having said. Another minority leader and renowned actor Pijush Bandyopadhyay was quoted to have said, Unless India puts pressure on Bangladesh, the fundamentalists wont budge. India is a major power in the region; it cant sit idle when minorities are being brutally slaughtered in a neighbouring country. Commenting on the issue, information minister Hasanul Haq Inu said Bangladesh does not need help from any other country to ensure the safety of minorities. The minister was talking to reporters over the current situation of the country at the Press Information Department yesterday afternoon when the topic came up. He said minorities, as well as other people, are being attacked as part of the BNP-Jamaat conspiracy to embarrass the government and to upset religious harmony in the country. He pointed out that there are more than 20,000 temples in the country where religious activities are carried out regularly. The government is secular in principle, he added. On the other hand, Rana Dasgupta, in a press statement, termed the PTI report to be false and fabricated. What the PTI has reportedthat I have sought Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modis intervention to ensure safety for minorities in Bangladeshis not true, he said. I had only talked to the PTI correspondent about the current condition of Hindus in our country, but I never sought Narendra Modis intervention in this regard, he added. On Sunday, pro-AL minority community leaders had expressed their dissatisfaction with the governments role in curbing the ongoing secret killings and terrorist attacks, especially on the minorities. Rana Dasgupta had said that the AL central leaders and ministers were only paying lip service instead of curbing the killings. We have tried to convey our pain to the central leaders as well as the ministers but they are only paying lip service instead of taking concrete steps to curb the ongoing attacks on the minorities, he had said. Militant activities cannot be minimised by forming human chains, he had added. AL presidium member and 14-Party Alliance coordinator Mohammad Nasim said, It is very unfortunate that Rana Dasgupta sought the intervention of another countrys prime minister and not his own. However, this is a very sensitive issue. I dont want to make further comments on it. AL joint general secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif refused to comment on the issue as well. Killings of minorities have continued in the country for quite a while. A 60-year-old ashram worker, Nityaranjan Pandey, was hacked to death on June 10 by suspected extremists. He was the fourth person from the minority community to be killed in a series of such attacks in Bangladesh. Only a week before that, a priest, a Christian grocer, and the wife of a police officer engaged in anti-terror operations were killed. In February, extremists stabbed a priest to death at a temple. In April, a professor was killed in Rajshahi city. This was followed by the murder of a tailor belonging to the minority community. Bangladeshs first gay magazine editor, Xulhaz Mannan, was also killed in April.