Deeply regrettable, says India as mob ransacks Bangladesh consulate in Agartala
Bangladesh’s foreign ministry said that it “deeply resents” the “violent demonstration and attack by a large group of protesters on the mission
NEW DELHI: A large group of people protesting the persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh barged into the Bangladesh consulate in Agartala and vandalised it on Monday, prompting New Delhi to describe the breach as “deeply regrettable” and step up security for all of the country’s missions in India.
With attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh and the arrest of Bangladeshi monk Chinmoy Krishna Das on sedition charges becoming hot-button issues, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intervention in the matter and said the Indian government should seek the deployment of UN peacekeepers in Bangladesh. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders responded to her comments by saying she was shedding “crocodile tears”.
Thousands of people joined a protest organised by the Hindu Sangharsh Samiti in Tripura capital Agartala, to voice their anger at the arrest of Das and violence against Hindus in Bangladesh. People familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity that scores of protestors broke through police barricades and barged into Bangladesh’s assistant high commission, ransacking property and raising alarm among Bangladeshi officials.
The handful of Bangladeshi officials present at the premises were unharmed though the incident left them shaken, the people said.
“The incident earlier today of the breach of premises at the Bangladesh assistant high commission in Agartala is deeply regrettable,” the external affairs ministry said in a brief statement.
“Government is taking action to step up security arrangements for the Bangladesh high commission in New Delhi and their deputy/assistant high commissions in the country,” the statement added. Besides the mission in Agartala, Bangladesh has consular premises in Guwahati, Kolkata and Mumbai.
The external affairs ministry emphasised that diplomatic and consular properties “should not be targeted under any circumstances”.
Bangladesh’s foreign ministry said in a statement that it “deeply resents” the “violent demonstration and attack by a large group of protesters of the Hindu Sangharsh Samity” on the mission. The statement said the “protesters were allowed” to enter the premises by “breaking down the main gate...in a pre-planned manner”, while local police were “found not to be active in containing the situation”.
Besides damaging property inside the mission, the protesters “desecrated the national flag of Bangladesh”, the statement said. The “heinous attack” on the mission violates the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the Bangladesh government called on its Indian counterpart to investigate the incident, prevent further acts of violence against Bangladesh’s missions and ensure the security of Bangladeshi officials.
The people cited above said there were no plans to temporarily shut down the Bangladeshi missions in Agartala or any other location. “We are hoping that good sense will prevail and things will return to normal,” one of the people said.
It is understood the Bangladeshi side is likely to lodge a protest against the breach of its consular premises.
Ties between India and Bangladesh have been strained since former prime minister Sheikh Hasina stepped down in the face of widespread protests in August and an interim government headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus assumed office. India has repeatedly expressed its concerns over increasing extremist rhetoric and violence targeting Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh.
PM Modi raised the issue during a phone call with Yunus in August, though the Bangladeshi side has maintained that reports of the targeting of Hindus and their places of worship are being exaggerated by the Indian media. Yunus has also spoken about seeking Hasina’s extradition from India, where she sought shelter after fleeing Bangladesh.
On Friday, India again urged Bangladesh’s interim government to protect Hindus and other minorities in the face of threats and targeted attacks and called for the case of Das, a former member of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Iskcon) to be dealt with in a fair and transparent manner.
Both Tripura and West Bengal, which share a long border with Bangladesh, have witnessed protests against the persecution of Hindus in the neighbouring country. Protestors have demanded the release of Das, who was detained by police at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on November 25 and charged with sedition for allegedly raising a saffron flag above Bangladesh’s national flag in Chittagong on October 25.
The arrest of Das was followed by the detention of more Iskcon members in Bangladesh. Over the weekend, Bangladesh’s immigration authorities at the Benapole land border crossing barred a large group of Iskcon monks from entering India, though they possessed valid travel documents.
On Monday, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee urged the central government to seek the deployment of UN peacekeepers in Bangladesh and sought PM Modi’s personal intervention to secure the safety of minorities in the neighbouring country. She demanded the external affairs minister should inform Parliament about India’s stance on the situation in Bangladesh.
“We have families, properties and loved ones in Bangladesh. We accept whatever stance the government of India takes on this, but we condemn atrocities on religious grounds anywhere in the world and appeal to the Union government and the prime minister to intervene,” she said while speaking in the state assembly.
“In the wake of recent developments, the experiences narrated by many people here, who have relatives in Bangladesh, the arrest of people coming over to our side, and my conversations with Iskcon representatives, [all this] has forced me to make this statement on the floor of this House,” 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,” she added.
Accusing the Central government of keeping “mum for the past 10 days” despite the escalation of the situation in Bangladesh, Banerjee said: “Why don’t they ask their central leadership to pursue the Centre to proactively intervene in the Bangladesh situation? Instead, their leaders are demanding closure of goods movement along our land borders.”
Her comments were a reference to a protest by a group of BJP legislators, headed by Suvendu Adhikari, that blocked the movement of cargo vehicles at Petrapole-Benapole land border crossing on Monday. A few thousand BJP workers and members of several Hindutva groups assembled at Petrapole with the Indian tricolour and saffron flags.
“This is not a protest by the BJP but by Hindus. The movement of goods was stopped from 6am and this will continue till 6am on Tuesday. Next week, we will block trade for five days. This should teach Muhammad Yunus a lesson,” said Adhikari, Leader of Opposition in the state legislative assembly.
BJP leaders also targeted Banerjee over her comments, with Amit Malviya saying on X that she should “stop shedding crocodile tears for Hindus in Bangladesh”. West Bengal BJP’s chief spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said: “Banerjee said a few days ago that she will not comment on the Bangladesh issue and follow whatever decision the Centre takes. Today, she is suggesting that India should approach the UN. This is possible only in Trinamool Congress.”
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