Hindu outfits concerned about Bangladesh situation post murder of Hindu man in the nation; protest planned today
Vishwa Hindu Parishad International chief Alok Kumar (holding mic) with VHP leaders Shriraj Nair (in yellow kurta), Dr Ajay Sankhe (in white), and Mohan Salekar at Marathi Patrakar Sangh, Azad Maidan. Pic/Ashish
Days after a Hindu man named Dipu Chandra Das was killed in Bangladesh, there has been concern escalating to anger and outrage here. Hindu outfit Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has specifically announced that they will lead a protest outside the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Mumbai’s Cuffe Parade on Tuesday afternoon. The announcement was made on Monday at a press conference held at the Marathi Patrakar Sangh, Azad Maidan.
VHP’s International President, Alok Kumar, said at the outset, “Dipu Chandra Das was brutally killed. Even after he was dead, his body was set on fire.” Kumar pointed to the reason why Das was killed for ‘blasphemy’. He claimed that Das had posted a comment on social media, merely stating that all religions lead one on to the same correct path and that they are all equal. “This is not blasphemous, yet it was construed to be a criticism of Islam, and Das paid with his life.”
Kumar asked at the conference, “Is it blasphemous to say all religions are equal? Even the Chief Advisor of Bangladesh, Muhammad Yunus, has stated that there has been no evidence of blasphemy. This is a reminder to the world that one form of jihad is so violent that even saying all religions are equal can get you killed.”
In a broadside at certain sections of society, Kumar said, “We were hopeful that those who carry the secularism flag here will speak up about this murder, but we have been met with silence.” He pointed out Yunus’s presence at the recently assassinated Bangladesh youth leader ‘anti-India’ Sharif Osman Hadi’s funeral.
Kumar said, Yunus stated at the funeral that “We have come to make a promise to you [Hadi] that what you told us, we will fulfill. You have given us such a mantra that this nation will never forget.” Towards the end of the press meet, Kumar answered several questions in the interactive session, one about whether Bangladesh’s ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled the country last year and is in India, should return to Bangladesh following court orders stating, “No, because she will not get a fair trial there.”
In December last year, the VHP and another Hindu outfit, Bajrang Dal, had led a mammoth protest outside the Deputy High Commission of Bangladesh at Cuffe Parade. The protest was triggered by atrocities against the Hindu (minority) community in Bangladesh, sparked particularly by the detention of Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari at the Dhaka airport. Now, one year later, the organisers state they will hold yet another protest at the same venue.
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