New Delhi, (Samajweekly) Bharatiya Janata Party national vice president Dilip Ghosh on Tuesday lashed out at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for keeping silent on the communal violence in Bangladesh where houses of Hindus were set on fire and temples were vandalised. So far six persons have died in one of the worst communal flare ups in decades in the country.
Ghosh made this comment while participating at an event organised to protest the violence against Hindus in Bangladesh, at Jantar Mantar in Delhi.
“These kinds of incidents have happened earlier also and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has taken strong steps. The numbers of such incidents have definitely come down but need to be stopped completely,” Ghosh said.
Questioning Mamata Banerjee’s silence over the Bangladesh violence, Ghosh said, “The so called ‘secular’ government of West Bengal, which runs to Tripura and Assam at the spur of the moment when something happens there, is totally silent on the issue of Bangladesh violence. Are there not Hindus in Bangladesh? They are being attacked by fanatics, maths and temples have been vandalised, women are being attacked, but the West Bengal Chief Minister is maintaining silence.”
“Why the spokesperson of the party doesn’t say anything? Are they worried about their vote bank? They only care about their vote bank, that’s why she keeps quiet,” he added.
According to Dilip Ghosh, more than 3,600 incidents of attacks on Hindus have taken place in Bangladesh since 2013, in which Hindu women were raped and temples were desecrated. “When the Ram temple movement took place in India, minorities in Bangladesh were attacked, lakhs of Hindus had to flee from their country and to take shelter in India,” he said.
He said, “The Bangladesh incident is a well thought out conspiracy against Hindus and is very agonising.”
Appealing to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Dilip Ghosh said, “Hindus are also the citizens of your country, they have chosen you as prime minister and they are contributing to the progress of your country. Ensure security to Hindus so that they can live in peace in that country.”
Speaking to IANS, Ghosh said, “Everyone knows that Hindu society is under attack in Bangladesh for a week, during Durga Puja. Durga temples were demolished, seers have been murdered, against which protests are taking place all over the world.”
“Lakhs of Hindus have taken to the streets in Bangladesh, this is not the first time this is happening. Our demand is to ensure the safety of Hindus there. The Government should take responsibility for this and should not allow such incidents to happen again,” he said.
He added, “The Indian government has issued a statement on the incident and is in constant touch with the Bangladesh government, which is a friendly country, but we want Hindu citizens to be safe there.”
On the question if he is satisfied with the action taken by the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Ghosh said, “The incidents have not stopped, the violence should stop, then action should be taken.”
