Bangladesh rejects India’s MEA remarks on minority safety, calling them inaccurate and biased, and urges restraint to protect bilateral ties.
Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry responds to India’s concerns on minority rights, denying systemic persecution and defending communal harmony (Photo: File)
New Delhi: The Bangladesh's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday rejected recent comments made by the spokesperson of India’s Ministry of External Affairs regarding the situation of minority communities in Bangladesh, saying the "remarks do not reflect the ground reality".
In a statement it said: "Our attention has been drawn to the recent comments made by the Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs of India regarding the situation of the minority communities in Bangladesh.
"His comments do not reflect the facts. The Government of Bangladesh categorically rejects any inaccurate, exaggerated, or motivated narratives that misrepresent Bangladesh’s longstanding tradition of communal harmony," the statement read.
It also said that "with much regret, we note that there are systematic attempts to portray the isolated incidents of criminal acts as systemic persecution of the Hindus and maliciously used to propagate anti-Bangladesh sentiments in different parts of India".
"We observe a selective and unfair bias in certain quarters, where isolated incidents are amplified, misrepresented and propagated to incite common Indians against Bangladesh, its diplomatic missions and other establishments in India," it said.
It also stated that one of the individuals cited by the MEA spokesperson was a listed criminal whose unfortunate death happened when he was committing extortion with his Muslim accomplice, who was later arrested.
"To portray this criminal act in the lens of minority treatment is not factual but misleading," it said.
"Bangladesh calls upon different quarters in India to refrain from spreading misleading narratives that undermines the spirit of good-neighborly relations and mutual trust," the stagement added.
The remarks came two days after India's MEA issued a strong-worded response to the recent incidents of violence in Bangladesh against Hindus and other minorities, warning that these could not be brushed aside as mere "media exaggerations or dismissed as political violence."
On the killing of another Hindu man, Amrit Mondal, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, "We are aware of the recent developments in Bangladesh and are closely monitoring the situation."
"The unremitting hostilities against minorities in Bangladesh, including Hindus, Christians and Buddhists, at the hands of extremists are a matter of grave concern. We condemn the recent gruesome killing of a Hindu youth in Mymensingh and expect the perpetrators of the crime to be brought to justice," the spokesperson had said.
"Over 2,900 incidents of violence against minorities, including cases of killings, arson and land grabbing, have been documented by independent sources during the tenure of the interim government," he added.
"These incidents cannot be brushed aside as mere media exaggerations or dismissed as political violence," Jaiswal had said.
