'Focus on your minorities': India slams Bangladesh's remark on Bengal violence
The rhetoric was a disingenuous attempt at drawing parallels between Bangladesh and India, where the perpetrators of criminal acts roam free, said an MEA spokesperson
The Ministry of External Affairs on Friday (April 18) slammed Bangladesh over its condemnation of the violence in West Bengal's Murshidabad, calling Dhaka’s take on the matter as “unwarranted comments” and “virtue signalling”.
MEA’s official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal took to social media platform X and said the rhetoric was a disingenuous attempt at drawing parallels between Bangladesh and India, where the perpetrators of criminal acts roam free.
“We reject the remarks made by the Bangladesh side with regard to the incidents in West Bengal. This is a barely disguised and disingenuous attempt to draw a parallel with India's concerns over the ongoing persecution of minorities in Bangladesh, where the criminal perpetrators of such acts continue to roam free,” Jaiswal said.
Also read: Murshidabad: Is there an 'external hand' behind the violence?
“Instead of making unwarranted comments and indulging in virtue signalling, Bangladesh would do better to focus on protecting the rights of its own minorities,” MEA stated in a post on X.
What sparked row?
Earlier, Bangladesh’s interim government vehemently denied any involvement in the communal violence that recently erupted in Murshidabad, Bangladesh-based Daily Observer stated on Thursday.
In a statement on Thursday, Shafiqul Alam, the press secretary to Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, expressed condemnation over the attacks on Muslims, which resulted in significant loss of life and property, urging the Indian government and West Bengal authorities to take necessary steps to ensure the safety and protection of the minority Muslim population.
Also read: Bengal governor declines Mamata's plea to defer Murshidabad visit
The controversy erupted after reports surfaced suggesting that an initial investigation into the Murshidabad violence by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had pointed to the involvement of alleged Bangladeshi miscreants.
Meanwhile, a team of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) arrived in West Bengal's Malda on Friday, said news agency ANI. The team is scheduled to visit the violence-hit areas of Murshidabad and Malda following protests over the Waqf Amendment Act in the state earlier in the month.