India has reacted sharply to the Bangladesh Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam's remarks urging New Delhi to take steps to protect the Muslim population in Murshidabad and West Bengal. A statement from the Indian Ministry of External Affairs termed his utterances as a ‘disingenuous attempt to draw a parallel with India's concerns over the ongoing persecution of minorities in Bangladesh’.
In response to media queries on the comments made by Bangladesh officials on the developments in West Bengal, Randhir Jaiswal, the official spokesperson of the MEA said in the statement, ‘We reject the remarks made by the Bangladesh side with regard to the incidents in West Bengal.’
‘Instead of making unwarranted comments and indulging in virtue signalling, Bangladesh would do better to focus on protecting the rights of its own minorities,’ Jaiswal said.
India has in the past flagged concerns over ‘attacks’ on minorities in Bangladesh. The concern was also conveyed by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he had held his first bilateral meeting with Bangladesh interim government's Chief Adviser Mohammad Yunus in Bangkok earlier this month.
In a press briefing at the Foreign Service Academy yesterday, Shafiqul Alam protested India’s attempts to link Bangladesh to violence in Murshidabad and urged the neighbouring country to take steps to protect its minority Muslim population there.
‘We strongly refute any attempts to implicate Bangladesh in the communal violence in Murshidabad,’ Shafiqul Alam said. ‘We urge the Government of India and West Bengal to take all steps to fully protect the minority Muslim population,’ he added.
Messenger/Noman
