Bangladesh rejects India's deliberate portrayal of minority situation
Bangladesh has rejected recent remarks by the spokesperson of India’s Ministry of External Affairs regarding the situation of minority communities in the country, calling them deliberate.
At the same time, Dhaka has urged various Indian quarters to refrain from spreading misleading narratives about minorities.
SM Mahbubul Alam, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh, made this statement in a press release on Sunday. He conveyed the statement to journalists around 4:30pm.
The statement said, “We have taken note of the recent remarks by the spokesperson of India’s Ministry of External Affairs regarding the situation of minority communities in Bangladesh. His comments do not reflect the actual situation. The government of Bangladesh clearly rejects any misleading, exaggerated, or deliberate description that misrepresents the long-standing tradition of communal harmony in Bangladesh.”
The statement noted that attempts are being made to deliberately portray a few isolated criminal incidents as institutionalised persecution of the Hindu community. It added that these incidents are being misused in various parts of India to spread anti-Bangladesh sentiment.
It further said that in some quarters, isolated incidents are being exaggerated and distorted through selective and biased perspectives, in an attempt to incite the general Indian public against Bangladesh, its diplomatic missions in India, and other institutions.
The statement also clarified that the individual cited by the Indian MEA spokesperson was a listed criminal. He met an unfortunate death while with his Muslim associate during an extortion attempt, and was later arrested. Presenting this criminal incident in the context of the treatment of minorities is not realistic and is misleading.
The statement urged India to refrain from spreading misleading narratives about Bangladesh, emphasising that such actions undermine the spirit of good-neighborly relations and mutual trust.