EAM S Jaishankar Likely To Address Parliament On Bangladesh Situation Tomorrow

Jaishankar met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday to discuss about attacks on Hindus and other religious minorities in neighbouring Bangladesh.

EAM Jaishankar will brief the Parliament on the ongoing Bangladesh crisis on Friday.

Source : PTI

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is expected to address the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha houses in the Parliament on the ongoing crisis in Bangladesh on Friday, November 29, if the proceedings are not disrupted by the leaders of the opposition.

This comes after Jaishankar met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday to discuss about attacks on Hindus and other religious minorities in neighbouring Bangladesh. These incidents include the vandalism of a temple in Chattogram district and the arrest of ISKON monk Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari this week, who was sent to jail on charges of sedition.

His address will come as the unrest continues in Bangladesh following the student-led rebellion against then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in August of this year, which forced her to quit and flee to India.

Following the ouster, the Bangladeshi Army took control of the nation for some time before an interim administration, which is headed by Nobel laureate Mohd Yunus, took the government's charge in August, 2024. However, the interim government has faced criticism for failing to stop the attacks on Hindus and other minority communities.

The External Affairs Ministry, after Chinmoy Das was arrested, said on Tuesday that there have been "multiple attacks on Hindus, and other minorities, by extremist elements".

"There are several documented cases of arson and looting of minorities' homes and business establishments, as well as theft and vandalism and desecration of deities and temples," the ministry said.

However, The Yunus government has stressed "in the strongest terms" that every citizen of Bangladesh, irrespective of their religious identity, possesses the "right to establish, maintain or perform respective religious rituals and practices or express views without hindrance."

Chinmoy Das was arrested at the Dhaka airport on Monday after a court denied him bail in a sedition case filed this month for allegedly disrespecting the Bangladesh's national flag during a rally in October. This triggered widespread protests in Dhaka and Chittagong, where Das' supporters clashed with security forces.

A Muslim lawyer was killed amid protests, following which police arrested six suspects after identification via CCTV footage. 

The minority community constitutes for only eight per cent out of Bangladesh's 170 million population and has faced more than 200 attacks ever since the fall of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government on August 5.