On Wednesday, West Bengal's Leader of Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, spearheaded a march of BJP legislators to the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata. The protest was held in response to the arrest of Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari in the neighbouring country on the charges of sedition.
“We clearly told them ‘enough is enough’. We asked them to stop the atrocities on Hindus and attacks on Hindu temples in Bangladesh,” LoP Adhikari, who met the deputy high commissioner along with seven other BJP legislators from the border areas of West Bengal, told the press.
“We told the deputy high commissioner that [your country] is ruining the good relationship between India and Bangladesh,” he continued. “We have seen many previous governments in Bangladesh but we never saw this kind of anti-India attitude and this kind of attacks on Hindus earlier.”
Dhaka not thrilled by India's response to Chinmoy Krishna Das arrest: 'Our internal matter'
LoP Adhikari claimed that Chinmoy Krishna Das was protesting in Bangladesh in alignment with the spirit of the 1971 Liberation War. He cautioned that if the monk was not released, the BJP would intensify its protests with larger rallies and marches across the state.
The 53-year-old also announced plans to lead a BJP demonstration at the Petrapole land port in North 24 Parganas district on December 2, aiming to disrupt the movement of all goods vehicles entering Bangladesh.
Earlier in the day, BJP MLAs left the West Bengal Assembly after the day’s proceedings. They gathered at Exide Mor near the Rabindra Sadan metro station and proceeded to march along AJC Bose Road towards Beckbagan, carrying images of Chinmoy Krishna Das and saffron flags.
The march was halted approximately 100 meters from the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission. Alongside the Leader of Opposition, the BJP delegation that met with the deputy high commissioner included Siliguri MLA Shankar Ghosh, Gaighata MLA and Matua leader Subrata Thakur, among others.
Why was Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das arrested in Bangladesh?
Adhikari, the Nandigram legislator, had organised protest rallies on Tuesday. He first led a march of BJP MLAs within the assembly before heading a procession of party workers and supporters in Behala, Kolkata.