‘Attack on Hindus in Bangladesh shows CAA’s necessity’: BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari

West Bengal leader of opposition and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Suvendu Adhikari met Union home minister Amit Shah to flag the alleged attacks on minority Hindus in Bangladesh, which is in political crisis following the resignation of its prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

According to a PTI report, Adhikari was told by Shah that the Narendra Modi government is taking appropriate action in the matter. During the meeting, Adhikari told Shah that the situation in Bangladesh underscored the necessity of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

Bangladesh plunged into a major political crisis after 76-year-old Sheikh Hasina fled the country amid heightened protests against her. Following her exit, the protesters vandalised residences, offices and other buildings associated with Hasina’s party Awami League and her family.

There have been reports of attacks on Hindu community, who constitute eight per cent of Bangladesh’s population of 17 crore. The Hindus are said to have historically supported Awami League, founded by Hasina’s father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

The Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council (BHBCUC) told Reuters that 200-300 mainly Hindu homes and businesses had been vandalised since Monday, and 15-20 Hindu temples damaged. Up to 40 people have been injured though not seriously.

Suvendu’s jibe at Mamata over CAA

Suvendu Adhikari took a jibe at Trinamool Congress, which rules West Bengal, saying that now everybody will have to acknowledge the need for the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA).

The CAA, notified in March, allows citizenship for persecuted minorities in the three Muslim-majority countries of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who arrived in India by December 31, 2014.

He also made an apparent reference to migration of Hindus from Bangladesh in the 1971 war, and added that atrocities on Hindus and their temples continue in the neighbouring country.

Earlier, external affairs minister S Jaishankar told Parliament,”What was particularly worrying was that minorities, their businesses and temples also came under attack at multiple locations. The full extent of this is still not clear.”