KOLKATA, Dec 8: Demonstrations took place across several regions of West Bengal on Sunday in response to reported atrocities against Hindu minorities in Bangladesh. Hundreds gathered for rallies organized by Hindutva groups in Kolkata, Kanthi, Kakdwip, Sandeshkhali, and Purulia, demanding the immediate release of Hindu leader Chinmoy Krishna Das.
At a protest outside the Salt Lake International Bus Terminus in Kolkata, demonstrators set fire to Dhakai Jamdani sarees imported from Bangladesh. They called for a boycott of Bangladeshi goods, warning that Indians would not remain silent in the face of disrespect to the national flag and ongoing attacks on Hindus.
“We condemn the ongoing targeting of Hindus in Bangladesh and the hateful narratives against India. With our actions, including burning Jamdani sarees, we urge people to reject Bangladeshi products,” expressed one protestor.
“What type of Bangladesh is this? The same individuals who fought for liberation in 1971 appear to be erasing their own history,” remarked another protestor.
Leading the rally in Kanthi, the state’s Leader of the Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, asserted that ‘sanatanis’ were unified against rising fundamentalist forces in Bangladesh. “The sacrifice of 30,000 Indian soldiers during the 1971 Bangladesh liberation war is now being forgotten by Islamists in the neighboring country. Today’s rally serves as a wake-up call for those across the border to cease their inflammatory rhetoric,” he stated.
When questioned about anti-India remarks by Bangladeshi groups, Adhikari mentioned that the Narendra Modi government would appropriately respond based on international protocols and UN guidelines at the right time. (PTI)
