Suvendu Adhikari.
Credit: PTI File Photo
Kolkata: Senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari on Tuesday said that a protest would be staged at the India-Bangladesh border in West Bengal's Petrapole if attacks on minority Hindus in the neighbouring country continue unabated.
Speaking to reporters, Adhikari, the leader of opposition in West Bengal Assembly, expressed concern over reported attacks on Hindus in various parts of Bangladesh, stressing the urgency for ensuring minority safety.
"The attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh will have a reaction as per Newton's third law of motion that says 'every action has an equal and opposite reaction'," he warned.
"Bangladesh must realise that it has a duty to protect its minorities and respect their rights. We want to caution the Md Yunus government in Bangladesh that if the attacks on Hindus don't stop, we will stage a protest at the Petrapole border," Adhikari said, emphasising that India cannot ignore the plight of Bangladeshi Hindus given the cultural and historical ties shared by the two nations.
Adhikari, along with other BJP leaders, participated in a protest march organised by a religious body in Kolkata on Tuesday.
Addressing the gathering, he said, "I was watching some videos and speeches coming out of Bangladesh, where fundamentalists are asking people to boycott shops and businesses run by the Hindus. We would ask them to stop this hatred, or else every action will have an equal and opposite reaction according to Newton's third law." Adhikari asserted that citizens in West Bengal would support this cause in solidarity with the affected Hindu community in Bangladesh.
The Hindu minority population has faced vandalism of businesses and properties, along with the destruction of temples, amid the student-led violence that erupted following Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's ouster, after she fled to India on August 5.
Thousands of minority Hindus protested in Bangladesh's capital and the port city of Chattogram in the second week of August, demanding protection in response to widespread vandalism targeting their temples, homes, and businesses.