AGARTALA — Former Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb,
state BJP President Rajib Bhattacharjee, various organisations and
intellectuals criticised the Bangladesh government’s action against Hindu
priest Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari.
Das was taken into custody at Hazrat Shahjalal International
Airport in Dhaka on Monday. He was produced before Chittagong's 6th
Metropolitan Magistrate court on Tuesday. The court, after rejecting the bail
plea, sent the Hindu priest -- associated with the -- to jail.
Slamming Bangladesh authority, former Tripura Chief Minister
Biplab Kumar Deb, currently a Lok Sabha member, said: “The ongoing attacks on
Sanatani minorities, various religious institutions and Sanatani Gurus in
Bangladesh are entirely undemocratic and an affront to basic human rights
principles.”
“I strongly condemn such incidents, completely based on
narrow and vested interests, where sanatani sentiments and human rights are
violated. I urge an urgent and joint international action to stem this
undemocratic and anti-humanitarian situation,” Deb posted on his X handle.
Tripura BJP President Rajib Bhattacharjee slammed the
Bangladesh government over this arrest, and said, “Das during various natural
disasters and crises actively helped the people in Bangladesh, providing
various humanitarian support and he has been uniting the people belonging to
Sanatani belief,” he said in a statement.
Bhattacharjee, also a Rajya Sabha member, said that ISKCON,
despite being a very popular and respected international body, is now trying to
be identified as a terrorist group.
An apolitical and peace-fostering organisation ISKCON has 77
temples with over 50,000 devotees in Bangladesh and has branches in almost all
countries across the world, the BJP leader said.
He said that with the arrest of Das, it is now evident the
extent of atrocities being unleashed on the minorities in Bangladesh, and added
that even peaceful protest against the arrest of Das was also attacked in
Dhaka.
Bhattacharjee demanded Das's immediate release and the
withdrawal of all charges levelled against him.
A group of intellectuals and prominent citizens met the
officials of the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in Agartala and demanded
the immediate release of Das.
The intellectuals under the banner of ‘Forum for Protection
of Minorities in Bangladesh’ urged the Bangladesh caretaker government led by
Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus to make all efforts to protect the minorities in
Bangladesh.
Various other organisations also organised protest rallies
and demonstrations against the arrest of Hindu priest Chinmoy Krishna Das
Brahmachari.
A group of Hindutva activists and social workers Tuesday
evening staged a candlelight protest in Agartala.
The protesters organised their vociferous protest in front
of Ujjayanta Palace here, the former abode of Tripura’s erstwhile Manikya
dynasty which has been turned into a museum.
They demanded immediate and unconditional release of the priest
by Bangladesh authorities.
The protesters claimed that Das has been the “voice of
Sanatana Hindus” in Bangladesh and he was arrested on sedition charges after he
appealed to Hindus to stay united in the country.
Terming the arrest as “barbaric” and “unacceptable”, Biplab
Kanti Bhowmik, founder of a social organisation called ‘Srestha Bhubon Samajik
Sanstha’, said, “We have seen through social media that Chinmoy Krishna Das
Brahmachari of Bangladesh, who is the voice of Sanatani Hindus in that country,
was arrested at Bangladesh Airport and was illegally taken way.”
