Concerned at the deteriorating situation in Bangladesh Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has appealed to the Centre to move the United Nations seeking deployment of UN Peace Keeping force so as to save the lives and properties of the Hindu and other minorities including the tribal people.
Apart from seeking deployment of UN peacekeeping mission Banerjee also demanded a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue. The Chief Minister while delivering a speech in state Assembly on Monday said that she did not have the brief to speak on international affairs, which was why her government had said that it would accept whatever
decision the Centre would to take vis a vis Bangladesh.
However, “The Government of India is totally keeping mum on the issue. We respect the Indian government’s stance, but atrocities on religious grounds are unacceptable. Considering the deteriorating situation in that country and attack on the minorities I request the PM to intervene and if he cannot do that for other preoccupations at least the External Affairs Minister should give a statement on the issue in Parliament, which is in session.”
Expressing solidarity with the affected people Banerjee said, “we have families, properties, and loved ones in Bangladesh. They are in trouble we don’t want our people to be harassed and tortured like this,” adding, “The Centre should appeal to the UN to send peacekeeping mission in Bangladesh.”
The CM, who has always been under attack from the Opposition BJP for her policy of minority appeasement in Bengal would however not dwell on who she meant by the term, “our people” across the border.
The situation in Bangladesh --- that had gone haywire following a “student-led” uprising backed by the fundamentalist forces that saw the exit of democratically elected PM Sk Hasina --- had assumed volcanic proportions with the Hindu and other minorities including the tribal people being attacked with systematic regularity.
Things reached an alarming pass when the security forces in Bangladesh arrested a senior monk of International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISKON) Chinmoy Krishna Das Prabhu along with three other sadhus.
Demanding deployment of UN peace keeping forces the Chief Minister said, “We want our people to be rescued first. If they cannot live there we will open our doors for them. We can feed them easily but for that the Centre has to take a policy decision and give us permission. We are getting information of atrocities from the relatives of those who are returning to India. I had also a talk with the ISKON chief. I was so concerned that I had to make my statement on the issue on the floor of the House.”
