West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee sought the Centre’s intervention for the deployment of a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Bangladesh to tackle the situation there. Banerjee on Monday also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to act to bring back the persecuted Indians on foreign soil.
She demanded that the Union External Affairs Minister should inform the Parliament about India’s stance on the ongoing situation in Bangladesh. “The statement from the EAM should come during the ongoing winter session, if PM Modi is unavailable to do the job himself,” Banerjee said.
Tensions are running high in Bangladesh over the alleged atrocities on Hindus and other minorities and the arrest of Hindu priests. The West Bengal Chief Minister said in the assembly that commenting on the bilateral issues between the two countries was not under her purview as Bengal is only a part of the nation.
“In the wake of the recent developments and the experience narrated by many people here having relatives and base in Bangladesh, the arrests of people coming over to our side and my conversations with the ISKCON representatives here, has forced me to make this statement on the floor of this House,” she however said.
Banerjee urged S Jaishankar to take the matter up with the Dhaka authorities and with the United Nations, if required. She said, “If required, let an international peacekeeping force be sent to Bangladesh after talking to the (interim) government there to help them restore normalcy.”
The Chief Minister highlighted the urgent need to rescue and rehabilitate persecuted Indians on this side of the border. “If required we can rehabilitate the Indians attacked in Bangladesh. We have no problem sharing our ‘one roti’ with them if the need arises. There will be no shortage of food for them,” she said in her address in the assembly.
