Bangladesh Protest Highlights: BNP's Tarique Rahman to apply for voter list registration tomorrow

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The Bangladesh Nationalist Party's acting Chairperson, Tariq Rahman, would fulfil all the formalities related to the registration of his name on the country's voter list. 

As reported by the Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, Rahman will also initiate the process of preparing the National Identity Card.

The Kolkata Police on Friday arrested 12 people for protesting outside the Deputy High Commission of Bangladesh in Kolkata. The arrested persons were produced in Alipore Court, where they all got bail.

BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman on Friday visited the grave of his father and Bangladesh's former president Ziaur Rahman in Dhaka, 17 years after he returned home from self-exile in the UK.

The 60-year-old Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) acting chairman returned to the country on Thursday after living in London since 2008.

Rahman reached Zia Udyan in a red-and-green bulletproof bus and paid floral tributes at the grave, offering 'dua' and 'munajat' for the eternal peace of his father’s soul, news portal bangla.daily-sun.com reported.

BNP founder Ziaur Rahman was a Bangladeshi military officer who served as the sixth president of Bangladesh from 1977 until his assassination in 1981. He retired from the army in 1978 with the rank of lieutenant general.

The BNP leader was accompanied by senior party leaders during the visit.

According to the Daily Star newspaper, members of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), Rapid Action Battalion (Rab), police and the army barred media personnel and party activists from entering the grave area and its surroundings.

While Rahman was paying respects, party leaders and activists gathered in front of the entrance and chanted slogans.

(Inputs from PTI)

The Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the West Bengal state assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, on Friday said that the Mamata Banerjee government is protecting the interests of the people who are unleashing violence against Hindus in Bangladesh.

"The government here is protecting Bangladeshi atyacharis. Indian Hindus will not tolerate it (atrocities against Hindus in Bangladesh)," Adhikari told ANI.

Congress MP Tariq Anwar on Friday sought a more active role from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) over the atrocities on the Hindu minorities. 

"Our Ministry of Foreign and External Affairs should play a more active role, as it is not functioning in the way it should. Incidents taking place in neighbouring countries and elsewhere highlight the failure of foreign policy and the ministry concerned," Anwar told ANI.

Addressing the latest violence against Hindus in Bangladesh, Trinamool Congress MP Sharmila Sarkar urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene in the matter to protect the interests of the Hindus. 

"This is an international issue, and we want our Prime Minister and the Ministry of External Affairs to intervene in this matter and engage in talks with Bangladesh to stop the attacks on Hindus. Our Chief Minister has clearly said that whatever steps the country takes, we will support," she told ANI.

The Ministry of External Affairs on Friday issued a statement on the recent atrocities against the Hindu minorities in Bangladesh. Calling it unacceptable, the MEA said that India is monitoring the situation closely.

Dhirendra Shashtri, the chief of Bageshwar Dham, on Friday urged the Indian government to take some action to protect Hindus in Bangladesh. 

Speaking to ANI, Shashtri said, "It is unfortunate. It has become necessary for the Government of India to take some significant steps for Hindus in Bangladesh. If no step is taken, then the identity of Hindus will be in danger. There will be no point in Hindu unity if we don't come to their use now."

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader, Tarique Rahman, is heading to his father's mausoleum. 

He is greeted by the supporters of the BNP who have gathered to see him.

Addressing the ongoing unrest in Bangladesh, foreign affairs expert Waiel Awwad said that extremists are taking over the country, and they are trying to create a rift with India. However, Bangladesh needs to understand that it can't survive without the help of India.

"Certain elements within Bangladesh want to create a rift between India and Bangladesh, and that anti-India sentiment is increasing because of the incidents they have been carrying out intentionally. So the government cannot say it is an isolated incident... They have to bear responsibility and ensure this is not repeated. The places of worship should not be targeted, whether it's a Christian, a Hindu or a minority Muslim. There has to be some kind of action and give assurances to the people and to India that such an action should not be repeated," Awwad said while talking to news agency ANI.

The protest march reached the Bangladesh High Commission office, where barricades were erected and a large police deployment was put in place to prevent any untoward incident.

Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Hindu Sanghati and other Hindu organisations took out a rally protesting alleged atrocities against Hindus in Bangladesh, marching towards the Bangladesh High Commission.

Members of the National Hindu Mahajot staged a protest at Dhaka’s National Press Club, condemning the brutal lynching of Dipu Chandra Das and raising concerns over ongoing atrocities against minority Hindus in Bangladesh.

Known for labelling practising Muslims who support democracy as “kafirs,” Bikrampuri has openly incited violence against atheists and promoted Al-Qaeda and the Taliban as legitimate groups, drawing widespread condemnation from authorities.

Bikrampuri was taken into custody on December 24 following growing scrutiny over his provocative statements and online videos. Authorities have expressed concern over his extremist rhetoric and potential to incite violence.

Militant religious speaker Ataur Rahman Bikrampuri went live on social media shortly before his arrest, alleging that NCP student leaders and Jamaat-e-Islami were involved in terrorist activities and responsible for fuelling unrest across Bangladesh.

Bangladesh’s Education Adviser CR Abrar visited Dipu Das’ family on behalf of the interim government, expressing sympathy and assuring assistance, following reports clarifying there was no evidence of blasphemy against Das.

India called in the Bangladesh High Commissioner twice within a week after the murder of Dipu Chandra Das, reflecting growing concerns over anti-India sentiment and rising violence against minorities in Bangladesh.